
Class -J&ikLL 



Book 



A. 8 



Copyright N . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



AN INTRODUCTION 



TO 



PHARMACOGNOSY 



BY 

SMITH ELY JELLIFFE, M.D., PH.D. 

PROFESSOR OF PHARMACOGNOSY AND INSTRUCTOR IN MATERIA MEDICA 

AND THERAPEUTICS IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (COLLEGE OF 

PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS), NEW YORK 



ffullE l[llu0trateD 



PHILADELPHIA— NEW YORK— LONDON 

W. B. SAUNDERS AND COMPANY 

1904 



Two <*.noiw ffivwveo 

OCT 24 1904 

^onvrleht Entry 
CLASS ^ XXo. No. 




Copyright, 1904, by W. B. Saunders & Company 



Registered at Stationers' Hall, London, England 



PREFACE 



The following Introduction has been prepared with 
the hope that it may meet the needs of students of phar- 
macognosy in our schools of pharmacy. 

In general scope it follows the well-established lines 
already laid down by our European confreres, departing 
in many particulars, however, from most works pub- 
lished heretofore in this country. Thus special emphasis 
has been laid on the microscopic rather than the macro- 
scopic characters of drugs, although the latter have not 
been entirely neglected, and considerable attention has 
been given to the description of drug powders. 

While there have been many manuals in which the 
student of plant structures could find ample instruction 
concerning general histological • features, no work has 
been offered in this country which deals with the special 
individual anatomical characters of different drugs. 
Such works have been issued in Germany by Moeller, 
Tschirch, Meyer, Marme, Fluckiger, and others, and the 
monumental volume of Plancon and Collin, nearly two 
thousand pages, testifies in a measure to the value set 
by the French upon such studies Greenish, of London, 
in 1903 gave to the English pharmacists a guide similar 
in general features to the volume here presented. 

The present Introduction has been in preparation for 
some time, and here appears, not as a stupendous vol- 
ume such as those of Fluckiger or Plancon and Collin, but 
in a compressed and convenient form. This form, rather 
than that of an enormous reference book has been de- 

13 



14 PREFACE. 

liberately chosen as complying with what has been con- 
sidered good pedagogic principles. 

The drugs studied in detail have been carefully selected 
as those most typical of general drug structures, and it 
is believed that with the knowledge that may be thus 
acquired the student of pharmacognosy will be amply 
equipped to pursue individual research of an economically 
practical nature. 

New York, October, 1904. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

General Introduction 17 

Classification of Organic Drugs . . 19 

Animal Drugs . . . . 20 

Hirudo; The Leech — Cantharis; Cantharides ; Spanish Fly. 

Vegetable Drugs without Organic Structure '25 

Sugars and Sweet Exudates: Manna — Saccharum; Sugar; 
Cane Sugar — Saccharum Uveum; Glucose; Grape Sugar — ■ 
Saccharum Lactis; Lactose; Milk Sugar — Mel; Honey. 

Gums and Mucilages 29 

The Acacia Gums : Acacia ; Gum Arabic — Tragacantha ; Gum 
Tragacanth. Oils, Resins, Oleoresins, Gum Resins, and 
Balsams: Volatile Oils — Resins — Camphora; Camphor — • 
Terebinthina ; Turpentine — Terebinthina Venentia; Venice 
Turpentine — Canadian Turpentine — Colophonium; Resin; 
Rosin — Dammar — Copal — Kauri; Cowrie — Sandarac — Mas- 
tiche — Guaiac Resina; Guaiac — Benzoinum; Benzoin — 
— Copaiba; Balsam of Copaiba — Asafcetida — Galbanum; 
Mother Resin — -Ammoniacum; Ammoniac — Myrrha; Myrrh 
— Styrax; Liquidamber; Storax. 

Drugs of Vegetable Origin with Organic Structure 75 

Powdered Substances: Starches — Lycopodium — Lupulinum 
— Kamala— Galla ; Galls. 

Plant Organs or Parts of Plants 88 

Roots: Sarsaparilla — Radix Belladonnae; Belladonna Root 
— Radix Glycyrrhizas ; Licorice Root — Radix Ipecacuanhas ; 
Ipecac — Radix Senegas; Senega — Radix Rhei; Rhubarb- 
Radix Gentianas; Gentian. Rhizomes; Aspidium — Cala- 
mus — Podophyllum — Zingiber; Ginger — Curcuma; Tur- 
meric. Tubers, Bulbs: Squill — Colchicum — Aconite — Jalap. 
Woods: Quassia — Hasmatoxylon ; Logwood — Santalum Rub- 
rum; Red Saunders. Barks: Cortex Rhamni Purshianas; 
Cascara — Cortex Cinnamomi; Cinnamon — Cortex Granati; 
Pomegranate — Cortex Quillajas; Soap Bark — Cortex Angos- 
turas; Angostura Bark — Cortex Viburni Prunifolii; Black 
Haw — Cortex Pruni Virginianae; Wild Cherry Bark — Cortex 
Sassafras; Sassafras Bark. Leaves: Folia Sennas; Senna — 

IS 



l6 CONTENTS. 

Folia Digitalis; Digitalis — Belladonna — Hyoscyamus — Pilo- 
carpus — Mentha Piperita ; Peppermint — Erythroxylon ; 
Coca — Eucalyptus — Buchu — Tea. Herbs and Flowers: Ce- 
traria; Iceland Moss — Chondrus; Irish Moss; Carragheen — 
Santonica; Levant Wormseed — Cusso; Kousso — Pyrethri 
Flores; Insect Flowers — Lavender — Cannabis Indica; Indian 
Hemp. Fruits: Caryophyllus ; Cloves — Cubeba; Cubebs — 
Piper; Pepper — Conium; Hemlock — Fceniculum; Fennel. 
Seeds: Amygdalus Dulcis; Sweet Almond — Physostigma; 
Calabar Bean — Nux Vomica — Ignatia — Sinapis; Mustard — 
Peas and Beans. 



Index 255 



INTRODUCTION 

TO 

PHARMACOGNOSY. 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

Pharmacognosy is the study of drugs in their crude 
condition. It is one of the branches of Pharmacology, 
which in its broad sense consists of the study of reme- 
dial agents, or Materia Medica. Pharmacology includes 
Pharmacognosy, the study of drugs in their crude con- 
dition; Pharmacy, the preparation of drugs for the use 
of the medical practitioner; and Pharmacodynamics, the 
physiological action of drugs on living organisms. This 
latter branch is sometimes termed Pharmacology, but 
the word is then used in a narrow sense only. 

Thus the study of Pharmacognosy would include the 
knowledge of drugs with reference to botany and chern^ 
istry, if of vegetable origin, or of their zoology and chem- 
istry if derived from the animal kingdom. Substances 
derived by chemical manufacture, such as the simple 
salts, acids and alkalis, are not usually included in the 
study of Pharmacognosy. The substances usually com- 
ing within the domain of Pharmacognosy are of organic 
nature. 

The study of plant drugs from the pharmacognostical 

standpoint would include the study of the habitat and 

general character of the plant from which the drug is 

derived, its place in the botanical system, the organ or 

2 17 



l8 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

organs of the plant used, their gross and minute structure 
in the whole and powdered condition, and the chemistry 
of the constituents, especially of those which may be 
used in Therapeutics. Comprehensive treatments of this 
type have been carried out in such works as F. A. Flucki- 
ger, " Pharmakognosie des Pflanzenreiches ; " A. Meyer, 
" Wissenschaftliche Drogenkunde ; ' ' Plancon et Collin, 
" Les drogues simples d'origine vegetale," and other 
smaller manuals, such as those of Marme, Moeller, 
Wigand, and Herail et Bonnet. 

The subject-matter of Pharmacognosy may thus be 
divided into several fields. It may be considered mainly 
from the botanical point of view, constituting "Medical 
Botany ; " it may be considered from the standpoint of the 
anatomist, " Histological or Anatomical Pharmacognosy," 
"Applied Plant Anatomy," or the entire interest of the 
study may be directed toward the investigation of the 
constituents, active and non-active, of the plant, in which 
case the study may be termed " Pharmaceutical Chem- 
istry," meaning by this not the chemistry of pharmaceutic 
manufacture, but the chemistry of plant analysis, as 
outlined by Dragendorff and others. Finally there is a 
commercial side to the study of Pharmacognosy, which 
has to do with the methods of gathering, transporting, 
packing and selling of remedial agents. This has been 
termed "Commercial Pharmacognosy."* 

The study of Pharmacognosy as a separate branch did 
not begin until about the year 1825, when Martius began 
to give his series of lectures at the University of Erlangen. 
Even at the present time it is evident that Pharmacog- 
nosy is not a branch of science with well-defined limita- 
tions. It overlaps so many fields of inquiry and is a 

* See Essay by Tschirch of Berne in the Pharmaceutische Zeitung, 
1 88 1, No. 8, for a full discussion of the aims of modern Pharmacog- 
nosy. Sec also Fluckiger, "The Principles of Pharmacognosy," 
translated by Powers. 



CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANIC DRUGS. 19 

compound of so much that, like many another group of 
sciences, it is a science for convenience' sake only.* 



CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANIC DRUGS. 

I. Animal Drugs. 

II. Vegetable Drugs without Organic Structure. 
Sugars, gums, gum resins, resins, oleoresins, balsams, 
volatile oils, milky juices, extracts and enzymes. 

III. Vegetable Drugs with Organic Structure. 

(a) Starches. (6) Simple Powders, (c) Galls, (d) 
Plant Organs or parts of Organs. Roots, Rhizomes, 
Tubers, Bulbs, Corms, Wood and Stems, Barks, Leaves, 
Flowers and Floral Appendages, Fruits and Seeds. 

The above very brief classification is offered as the one 
to be followed in the accompanying pages. 

In the discussion of plant organs, or parts of organs, 
certain advantages might be derived from a study of the 
simple organs first, such as seeds and fruits, taking up 
later the organs with more complex anatomical structure, 
yet custom has more or less stamped its approval upon 
the reverse order of study, and it is here followed for 
the sake of convenience. 

* See Fliickiger, " Pharmakographia," for full discussion of the 
history of drugs and their method of preparation. 



ANIMAL DRUGS. 

As the science of medicine has progressed step by step, 
the great number of drugs derived from the members 
of the animal kingdom has been reduced. This large 
number of drugs was gradually introduced during the 
middle ages, so that in the middle of the sixteenth cen- 
tury at least 150 drugs derived from some portion of an 
animal were in constant use. 

In the days of Hippocrates II, 400 B. C, and Dibs-- 
corides, 50 A. D., very few such drugs were employed, 
and at the present time the number is very small, except 
in the homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, where many of the 
materials in use during the middle ages have been re- 
tained. 

Certain animal drugs have maintained their reputation 
for efficiency, and only a few of these will be considered. 

HIRUDO. THE LEECH. 

This is a worm of the Annelid or Ringed- worm class. 
The most familiar one of the class is the Hirudo medicin- 
alis, and this is the variety most commonly used. It lives 
in ponds and slow-flowing streams, where it feeds upon the 
blood of fishes, frogs, snails and other available food 
materials. It is its habit to take as much at one time 
as possible, gorging itself upon what supply of food is 
obtainable. It can thus often live a whole year without 
feeding twice. Its mode of locomotion is by means of 
the alternate use of the front and rear suckers, and when 
disturbed it swims by a rapid wave-like motion of the 
entire body. 

Description. —The leech usually measures from 5 to 1 5 
centimeters (2 to 6 inches) in length and is either 



HIRUDO THE LEECH. 21 

cylindrical or flattened, varying according to the state 
of contraction. The body is dark (blackish or grayish 
with brownish stripes). It is marked by a series of 
rings, at least ioo in number. The dorsal surface is 
mottled by distinct rows of spots, whereas the ventral 
surface is irregularly mottled. At both ends of the body 
the worm is provided with a mouthpiece or sucker. 




Fig. i. — Leech (Moeller). 

With the posterior one the animal fastens himself, and 
then brings the triangular mouthpiece into play. This 
is provided with three sets of tooth plates, which by their 
muscular attachments move like a segment of a circular 
saw and make a triangular cut into the skin, through 
which the animal sucks the blood by means of its muscular 
pharynx. The clotting of the blood is prevented by a 
locally secreted ferment. The blood passes into a large 



2 2 ANIMAL DRUGS. 

alimentary canal which is provided with a number of 
side pockets, all pointing forward. Fresh leeches are 
recognized by their fresh color, their active, elastic 
movements, and the fact that they do not give tip any 
blood when salt or vinegar is dropped upon the mouth. 

Fresh worms are preferable to those from which the 
blood has been squeezed, for although the latter will suck 
blood, they, as a rule, do so less lustily. 

The leeches most commonly employed are : the Gray 
Leech (Hirudo medicinalis, L.), olivaceous in color, with 
six reddish longitudinal bands along the back, abdomen 
spotted with black and showing a blackish line on each 
side. Its rings are slightly roughened. It inhabits 
Europe, principally France, Germany, and Hungary. 
Green Leech (Hirudo officinalis, Moq.), greenish, with 
six dorsal bands similar to those of the former, olivaceous 
and unspotted abdomen, bordered by a black line. Its 
rings are very fine. The green leech is found with the 
gray leech. Dragon Leech (Hirudo troctina, Moq.), 
bright green on the back, with orange borders; isolated 
black macules bordered with orange take the place of 
the longitudinal bands. The abdomen is yellowish green 
and may or may not be spotted. This leech is an in- 
habitant of northern Africa. 

There are a number of native species in the United 
States. 

Collection and Preservation. — The leeches are caught 
in nets and are best preserved in clear water, at a tem- 
perature of from io° to 20 C. (50 to 70 F.). The 
vessel should be comparatively large and should contain 
some stones and an oxygen-giving plant. 

Uses. — To relieve congestion and abstract blood locally. 

CANTHARIS. CANTHARIDES. SPANISH FLIES. 

These are the dried bodies of a species of beetle, Can- 
tharis vesicatoria, L., a member of the Meloidce or Blister- 



CAXTHARIS. CANTHARIDES. SPANISH FLIES. 23 

ing Beetle family. The group contains a large number 
of blistering beetles, many of which are coming into use. 

In Europe, which is its native habitat, the Spanish 
fly lives upon plants of the olive family, more particu- 
larly on the ash, olive, lilac and privet, and upon the 
honeysuckle and elder. From these, in the early 
morning, they are shaken into cloths and killed by the 
vapor of chloroform, benzine, or other volatile liquid. 
They are then spread out in the sun and dried. 

Description. — Cantharis varies from 15 to 30 mm. (J- 
to H inches) in length and 6 to 8 mm. (J to J inch) in 
breadth. It is of a brownish cast with coppery green 
iridescence. The head is somewhat trans- 
verse-heart-shaped, the antennas are 
somewhat thickened, the outer joints 
being round or oval ; the front foot has 
five joints, the hinder four. The wings 
are striated and have two or three fine 
longitudinal stripes or ribs. The smell 
is peculiar and unpleasant and the taste 

sharp and burning. 

™ . ^ . . . , , Fig. 2.— Cantha- 

Cnemistry. — the active principle has R i S (Moelier). 

been isolated in the form of a crystal- 

lizable body, the anhydride of cantharidic acid, Cantha- 

ridin, C n H 12 4 , and is found in a number of other beetles 

of allied genera, Lytta, Meloe, Mylabris, Sitaris, and 

Zonaris, and even the common Colorado potato beetle, 

Doryphora, 0.5 per cent. It is with difficulty soluble in 

water, slightly soluble in alcohol, ether, benzol, CS 2 , 

whereas in acetone, chloroform, acetic ether, and fatty 

and ethereal oils it is freely soluble. Cantharidin may 

be reduced by xylol. Other constituents are fat, 12 per 

cent., ash, 6.8 per cent. 

Adulterations. — Other beetles with which Spanish flies 

are often mixed can be detected if the size and description 

given are carefully followed. Those most often used are : 




24 ANIMAL DRUGS. 

Carabus auratus, L. ; shorter, greenish above, legs and 
antennae reddish. 

Catonia aurata, L. ; greenish above, below hairy, with 
a cross white line on the wings. Shorter and broader than 
the Spanish fly. 

Cicambyx moschata, L. ; about the same length but 
narrower, with very long (at least an inch) antennas and 
a steel blue color. 

Mylabris dehor ii and Mylabris phalerata, Chinese flies, 
and other blistering beetles from the United States are 
being introduced, and a number of the American species 
have been found to contain more cantharidin than the 
European species. Fliickiger found as high as 2.5 per 
cent, in the Brazilian species, Epicauta adspersa. 

Physiological Action. — Cantharides is a violent irritant, 
producing when applied to the skin redness, smarting, 
and blisters. Sloughing may result from its application. 
Internally it is absorbed and is a violent poison with 
vomiting, purging, violent abdominal pain and collapse. 
It is eliminated mainly through the urine, and may induce 
violent symptoms in the genito-urinary tract. Poisoning 
is best treated by washing out the stomach, and the 
application of demulcents, mucilages, starch, cocaine, 
and morphine for pain. Intestinal antiseptics, salol, 
and bismuth for after-treatment of ulceration. Oils and 
fats should be avoided internally in the treatment of 
cantharides poisoning because of solubility of canthar- 
idin in these menstrua. Dose, 0.005 "to 0.06 gm. (-fa to 
1 grain) well diluted, in tincture. 



VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUC- 
TURE. 

SUGARS AND SWEET EXUDATES. 

MANNA. 

Manna is the concrete saccharine exudation of Fraxinus 
Omits, L. (nat. ord. Oleaceae). 

Fraxinus Ornus is distributed throughout eastern 
tropical countries and is cultivated to a great extent in 
more northern regions. The manna is obtained in many 
places from cultivated trees. These begin to produce 
after five years and continue to yield manna for twenty 
years, after which they are cut down and new ones 
planted. In August or September the trees are tapped 
for the sugar, by means of sharp knives, the cut usually 
being three or four inches long, and extending well 
through the bark into the wood. From this wound 
comes the sap, at first brownish and somewhat bitter, 
afterward white and sweet. It is collected as it drops 
out in receptacles varying with the place of culture. 

Description. — Two main kinds occur in the market, 
stem manna and lump manna, Tears and Sorts, although 
a number of terms have been in use in different sections. 
Flake manna is commonly sold. 

Stem or Tear Manna is produced by slow exudation 
and drying, whereby the manna forms in irregularly 
triangular pieces. When good samples are obtained the 
pieces are from 15 to 20 cm. (5 to 8 inches) long and 
2 cm. (J inch) thick. They have a porous crystalline 
appearance, are light brown in color, whiter on the sur- 
face. 

25 



26 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

Irregular and brownish pieces, collected later in the 
year, in which tears may be found, constitute the variety 
of sorts. Often the manna spreads out on the branches 
and is gathered as flattened pieces, flakes, which vary 
widely in size. Fat manna is a type of sort manna which 
is collected late in the year after finer varieties have been 
utilized. It is darker in color, softer and hygroscopic. 
It may contain some tears. It is liable to ferment rapidly 
and break down into a soft, fatty and bitter mass. 

Chemistry. — Mannite, C 6 H 8 (OH) 6 , 25 to 80 percent.; 
also other sugars, grape sugar, invert sugar, mucilage, 
dextrin. Fraxin, C 16 H 18 O 10 , is stated by Fliickiger to 
be absent in old manna. Bitter principle, citric acid. 
Mannite, obtained by crystallization from alcohol, occurs 
in white rhombic prisms, is soluble in 6.5 parts of water 
(16 C), melts at 165 C, without change, and can be 
sublimed. Manna does not reduce Fehling's solution. 
Mannite is widely distributed in the plant kingdom. 

Other mannas are obtained from a variety of sources. 
Tamarisk Gallica, by stinging of an insect. Coccus man- 
ni pants , exudes a clear white manna which is supposed 
to be the manna eaten by the Hebrews in the wan- 
derings in the desert. Lecanora esculenta, a lichen, 
also enjoys a similar reputation. Q iter cits vallonea and 
Persica, Alhagi Maurorum, Astragalus adscendens, Salix 
fragilis and a variety of other plants contain manna. 

Uses. — Demulcent, laxative, and as a food. Dose, 
q. s. to 30 gm. (1 oz.) in solution. 

SACCHARUM. SUGAR. CANE SUGAR. 

The refined sugar obtained from Saccharum offlcinarum, 
L., and from various species or varieties of Sorghum 
(nat. ord. Gramineae) and also from one or more varieties 
of Beta vulgaris, L. (nat. ord. Chenopodiaceao) . Formula 

C 12 H 22 ir 

Tlie species of Saccharum and of Sorghum are from 



SACCHARUM UVEUM. GLUCOSE. GRAPE SUGAR. 27 

tropical countries and are extensively cultivated in warm 
climates. The beet may be cultivated in northern tem- 
perate zones as well as in the tropics. Sugar-cane 
contains about 18 per cent, of sugar; beets, about 14 
per cent. The general output of beet sugar is nearly 
twice that of cane sugar; over six million tons of the 
former were manufactured in 1900. Cane sugar is present 
in the sugar maple, carrot, turnip, and in most fresh 
fruits, in which latter it is usually inverted. 

Description. — White, dry, hard, crystalline, granules, 
odorless, with a purely sweet taste. Permanent in the 
air. Soluble in half its weight of water ; sparingly 
soluble in strong alcohol, insoluble in ether, chloroform, 
or carbon disulphide; fusible at 160 C. (320 F.) ; at 
temperature of 200 C. (392 F.) it is converted into 
caramel. Aqueous solutions are neutral to litmus paper. 
When acted on by bacteria and molds, or boiled with 
dilute acids, it is converted into invert sugar. 

Uses. — Demulcent. Food. 

SACCHARUM UVEUM. GLUCOSE. GRAPE SUGAR. 

Grape sugar is a normal constituent of the juice of 
grapes, but is manufactured on a large scale from various 
starches, corn-starch in particular, by the action of 
weak acids. Formula, C 6 H 12 6 , H 2 0. 

It occurs in whitish to yellowish masses, softer than 
cane sugar and hygroscopic. It crystallizes with or with- 
out water and is very soluble. One part of cold soluble in 
all proportions of hot water. It is about one-half as sweet 
as cane sugar. It is sparingly soluble in alcohol, insoluble 
in ether, and readily ferments with the production of 
alcohol. Solutions of grape sugar reduce Fehling's solu- 
tion. Heating yields caramel. 

Uses. — Much as cane sugar, but less often employed. 



28 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

SACCHARUM LACTIS. LACTOSE. MILK SUGAR. 

A peculiar crystalline sugar, obtained from the whey 
of cow's milk by evaporation, and purified by recrystal- 
lization. Formula, C 12 H 22 O n , H 2 0. 

White, hard, crystalline masses, four-sided, yielding 
a white, gritty powder, odorless and with a slightly 
sweet taste. Permanent in the air. Soluble in six parts 
of cold water, and in one part of boiling water. Insoluble 
in alcohol, in ether, or in chloroform. It gives up its 
water of crystallization at 130 C. (2 66° F.) and melts 
at 204° C. (398 F.). On boiling with dilute acid it 
splits into dextrose and galactose. Caramel can also be 
obtained from milk sugar. It reduces Fehling's solu- 
tion slowly. 

Uses. — Chiefly as vehicle and for infants' feeding. 

MEL. HONEY. 

A saccharine secretion deposited in the honeycomb of 
the bee, Apis mellifica, L. (Insecta). 

Honey is a syrupy liquid of a light yellow to pale 
yellowish-brown color, translucent when fresh, but gradu- 
ally becoming opaque and crystalline. It has an aro- 
matic odor and a cloying sweet taste. Honey is faintly 
acid to litmus paper. Specific gravity, 138 to 140. 

Honey consists of a mixture of glucose and levulose, 
a little wax, mucilage, proteids, volatile oil, coloring- 
matter, and slight ash. Microscopically it contains frag- 
ments of portions of insect bodies and pollen grains. It 
is widely manufactured from glucose. The manufactured 
product, unless mixed with the native product, contains 
no traces of insect fragments and no pollen grains. 

Uses. Honey has a wide use as a food and as a de- 
mulcent. It makes an excellent vehicle for adminis- 
tering medicines to children. It is mildly laxative. 



GUMS AND MUCILAGES. 29 

GUMS AND MUCILAGES. 

In the gradual anabolism of plants there are built up 
numbers of bodies that are very closely allied one to 
another, and which are intimately related to the carbo- 
hydrates. Among these carbohydrates are some charac- 
terized by their relatively easy solubility in water and 
showing certain definite chemical reactions, notably the 
reaction toward saturated aqueous solutions of potassium 
acetate. The precise method of the histological formation 
of gums is still a matter of a great deal of controversy.* 

Practically all the varieties of gum are characterized 
by their insolubility in alcohol, ether, or chloroform ; and 
when heated with dilute sulphuric acid they are con- 
verted, for the most part, into simple sugars, glucoses, 
of the pentose (C 5 H 10 O 5 ) and hexose (C 6 H 12 6 ) groups. 

In form they are not identical, but are usually roundish 
to elongated or rootlike or in tears, and only in rare in- 
stances have they characteristic shapes. Most gums show 
surface cracking ; for instance , acacia. They usually have a 
sharp fracture when dry. In color they vary from white 
through various shades of yellow to brown. They are 
mostly translucent or transparent, some of the darker 
varieties being opaque; they have for the most part a 
glassy surface, at least in the broken surface. They 
are odorless, usually mucilaginous, sweetish or bitterish 
to taste. Many are markedly hygroscopic and tenacious, 
thus rendering it difficult to powder them. 

They vary very widely as to their solubility — all will 
dissolve somewhat — when placed in water; some are 
readily soluble, others insoluble. Most gums possess the 
interesting property of being soluble in concentrated 
aqueous solution of chloral hydrate. 

* Tschirch: Ueber die Entwickelungsgeschichte einiger Secret- 
behalter tmd die Genesis ihrer Secrete. Ber. d. Deut. bot. Gesellsch., 
1888, S. 2. 



30 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

Watery solutions of the gums have a slight acid reac- 
tion; in many instances this is reinforced by the sul- 
phuric acid which is frequently used to clean them.- 

Chemically the gums are very complex. They con- 
tain also many included substances, such as inorganic 
salts, tannin, sugars, coloring-matters and various pro- 
teids. The salts are usually compounds of potassium, cal- 
cium, or magnesium as carbonates, sometimes with oxalic 
acid. The presence of the sugars is usually indicated 
by the power of reducing copper. Of the chemical com- 
position of the coloring-matters very little is known.- The 
nitrogenous bodies are in part ferments, which are widely 
distributed in gums, and have had important functions in 
the metabolism of the plant. 

Regarding the true gum substances, there is one 
group the members of which are soluble in water. 
These have heretofore been classified under the general 
title of the arabins. - It would appear from most re- 
cent researches that these arabins are not simple bodies, 
but consist of mixtures of closely related compounds. 
Wiesner and Zeisel have recently proposed the name 
glycosido-gummic acids to include the group.* 

A second group of gums is characterized by its com- 
parative insolubility in water; these contain substances 
which have been named cerasin and bassorin. Cerasin 
is a colorless substance insoluble in water or alcohol. Its 
chemical and physical composition, when freed from the 
inorganic substances usually incorporated within it, shows 
great similarity to an insoluble variety of arabin, which 
is formed when arabin is heated to dryness and is termed 
meta-arabic acid. Cerasin acted on by enzymes, acting 
on one type of gum alone, is said to be converted into 
arabin. f It is perhaps better to regard cerasin as a type 

* Die Rohstoffc des Pflan/.enreichcs, 2d edit., 1900, p. 61. 
t Garros: Bull. Socicte Chimique. 



GUMS AND MUCILAGES. 3 1 

of substances, rather than as a single body of definite 
chemical composition. 

Bassorin, like cerasin, is probably best described by 
referring to "the bassorins." They are colorless bodies, 
very slightly soluble in water. They contain few or no 
organic compounds. 

Neither cerasin nor bassorin reduce Fehling's solution, 
and they both yield arabinose and galactose by hydro- 
lysis. Both bodies are closely related to the plant 
mucilages and pectin bodies. 

The method of the origin of gums in plants has been 
the subject of much diversity in opinion. While formerly 
they were held to be secretions, they are now regarded, 
for the most part, as chemical modifications of the tissues. 
Traces of tissue structure sometimes persist in slight 
degree in some — tragacanth, for example. All or any 
of the tissues, normal or pathological, may be affected 
by this metamorphosis of the cell walls. In all proba- 
bility the metamorphosis is brought about by the action 
of the ferments, and Wiesner* in 1885 isolated a diastatic 
ferment which he thought caused the formation of gums. 

Gums occur as the commonest plant products. While 
any tissue may be converted into gum, those of the organs 
of the periphery are more liable to undergo the metamor- 
phosis. 

In general the various commercial gums may be 
classed, following Wiesner, as follows, the words arabin, 
cerasin, and bassorin being taken in the broad sense 
already outlined. 

(1) Arabin gums: Those rich in the arabins. Cerasin 
and bassorin are not present, or in very slight quantities. 
Here belong the bitter varieties of Acacia, Feronia and 
Anacardium gums. 

(2) Cerasin gums: Those rich in cerasin and containing 
arabin as well. The gums of the Prunus type are here 

* Sitzungb. d. k. Akad. der Wiss. in Wien, 1885. 



32 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

included. These are: Peach, Cherry, Plum, Prune, 
Apricot, and Mandel gums. 

(3) Bassorin gums: These consist mainly of bassorin 
with some gum allied to arabin. These are Tragacanth, 
Kuter, Bassora, Cocos, Chagnal, and Moringa gums. 

(4) Bassorin and Cerasin gums: Mixture of these two 
gums. Gum of Cochlospermum gossypium. 



THE ACACIA GUMS. 

The acacia gums are the Arabian, Senegal, Cape, North, 
East and West African, and East Indian varieties. The 
acacias form a family, as it were, of gums, many of which 
vary widely the one from the other. The discussion of 
the different species which yield the numerous varieties is 
beyond the scope of the present work.* The United 
States Pharmacopoeia recognizes the following: 

ACACIA. GUM ARABIC. 

A gummy exudation from Acacia Senegal, Willd.^ In 
roundish tears of various sizes, or broken into angular 
fragments, with a glass-like, sometimes iridescent frac- 
ture, opaque with numerous fissures, but transparent 
and nearly colorless in thin pieces, nearly inodorous, 
taste insipid, mucilaginous; insoluble in alcohol, but 
soluble in water, forming a thick, mucilaginous liquid. 

Acacia Senegal is a native of Egypt rather than of 
Arabia, growing in the fertile valleys of the Nile and of 
Senegambia. Probably it is spread well into Central 
Africa. In and about the same regions there are a large 
number of species of Acacia, most of which yield gums. 
In the main, however, most of the gums of commerce 
are derived from A. Senegal. 

The gum is obtained from plants eight to forty years 

* G. V6e: Etude sur les gommcs ditcs arabiques. These Ecole de 
Pharmacie de Paris, 1S88. 



ACACIA. GUM ARABIC. 33 

old from natural ruptures in trie bark, and is gathered 
during or after the time of blossoming, January to April. 
The richness of the exudation depends in large part on 
the climatic conditions. 

The gum coming from Kordovan from A. Senegal (A. 
Verek, Guill. et Perott.) is held to be the best in quality, 
and is collected in round nut-like pieces, or irregular 
angular ones, which are transparent and white, or have 
the slightest tinge of brown. It is easily broken with a 
glassy fracture and shows numerous cracks, most of which 
are superficial. Khartoum gum resembles this closely. 

The West African gum from Senegal, mainly derived 
from A. Senegal (A. Verek, of French writers), comes in 
pieces egg-shaped, elongated oval or worm-shaped, about 
two inches long and perhaps one-third of an inch in 
thickness. There is, however, a great variation in the 
matter of size and shape. The color is more yellowish, 
or even more reddish, than that of the East African 
sorts, and the gum is more regular in surface, showing 
fewer cracks. Smaller pieces are similar to those from 
East Africa. 

Cape gum occurs in still smaller fragments, resembling 
mastiche or sandarac. It is clear brown in color and is 
often mixed with impurities. Australian and Brazilian 
gums are of recent introduction. 

The powder of gum arabic is odorless, taste sweetish 
and mucilaginous. 

In commerce the pieces are sorted, often irrespective 
of origin, and made into different grades with corre- 
sponding prices, first, second, third, and fourth sifted 
sorts. 

Chemistry. — The general chemistry of gum acacia has 
been considered. The specific gravity varies from 1.50 
to 1.60. They are completely soluble in water and give 
a thick mucilage, slightly acid in reaction. 

Microscopical. — Little can be made of gum arabic under 
3 



34 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

the microscope. A few cell walls, occasionally some 
fragments of detached corky tissues, and some crystals. 
In adulterated powdered gum arabic the microscopic 
pictures will naturally vary according to the adulterant. 
Various flours are often employed as adulterants. Their 
characteristic starches are readily recognized. 
V Adulterations. — The gum is frequently adulterated 
with other kinds of gum, as cherry, Bdelbin, a gum resin. 
These,, being dark gums, are bleached by means of sulphur 
or chlorine gas. 

The powdered gum is mixed with a great variety of sub- 
stances, most of which, if of organic structure, are readily 
detected by the microscope. Other adulterants must 
be detected by chemical means. Dextrin is a very 
common adulterant of the powder. A mixture of this 
latter in gum may be detected by moistening with a 
few drops of ammonium molybdate and potassium 
nitrate which wnen heated gives a blue color. 

Uses. — In medicine as a demulcent. In the arts gum 
arabic has a wide range of usefulness. 

Other Gums of Similar Characters. — There are a great 
number of these, and only the most important can be 
mentioned. Their chemical composition has been con- 
sidered. 

Cherry and plum gums, from the cultivated and wild 
cherry and plum trees, are extensively gathered. They 
exude from natural breaks in the bark of the tree and 
occur as roundish irregular masses up to one and one- 
half inches in diameter. Plum gum is lighter in color, 
cherry gum being more reddish. Both are insoluble in 
water, but form emulsions. Senaar gum (Talca or 
vSouakim gums) is from North Africa, probably from 
Acacia fistula and A. Stenocarpa, Hocht. Jcsire gum is 
from the same general region. Cape gum or South 
African gum, from Acacia horrida, Willd., is a darker, 
cloudy gum, soluble with difficulty in water. It is 



TRAGACANTHA. GUM TRAGACANTH. 35 

widely used in English commerce mixed with Soudanese 
varieties. Mesquit gum is derived from a number of 
species of Pros o pis of the Mtmosece, plants allied to the 
Acacia and found in the west and southwest part of 
Texas and California, Mexico and South America. It 
is often mixed with the lower grades of gum arabic. 

TRAGACANTHA. GUM TRAGACANTH. 

A gummy exudation from Astragalus gummifer, Labill., 
and other species of Astragalus. (Nat. ord. Leguminosese.) 

In narrow or broad bands, more or less curved or 
contorted, marked by parallel lines or ridges, white or 
faintly yellowish, translucent, horn-like, tough, and 
rendered more readily pulverized by a temperature of 
5o°C. (122 F.). 

The species of this genus Astragalus are very numerous 
in Asia Minor, at least thirty in number, and of charac- 
teristic appearance. The gum is obtained by natural 
exudation, or from cuts in the bark of the stem or 
branches.* 

The form of the exudate, which is a product of degen- 
eration in the cells of the pith and medullary rays, in 
part, is due to the kind of incision, and varies according 
to the conditions of heat and moisture. At times it 
exudes in flattened, ribbon-like, irregular worm-like, 
or spherical masses. After drying, the pieces have a 
horny consistency, are whitish to brownish yellow con- 
torted broad or narrow ribbons or irregular pieces, 
marked with longitudinal lines. The tragacanth is 
sorted and the different qualities determined by the size 
and color of the pieces. 

It is tough, not easily cut nor powdered, save at an 
increased temperature; pure tragacanth should be 
tasteless, but often it is bitterish from portions of the 
rind. It swells with water into a gelatinous mass. 

* Wiesner: Die Rohstoffe, p. 112, Fig. 23. (After Tschirch.) 



36 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

In the market three kinds are handled — leaf or flake, 
consisting of the whitest, flattest pieces, most valuable; 
stem, or worm-like pieces; and sorts, or smaller rounded 
pieces. The finer leaf tragacanth usually comes from 
Asia Minor. A particularly fine variety of the stem 
tragacanth is frequently termed vermicelli. Sorts are 
usually small exudates or broken pieces of stem and flake. 

Microscopically numerous cells may be seen in various 
stages of retrograde metamorphosis, their cell walls 




Fig. 3. — Tragacanth. 

Microscopical view of gum tragacanth: s, s', Remains of starch-grains; 

z, remains of cell-walls (Wiesner). 



being swollen in various stages and undergoing the 
mucilaginous modification. These are mixed with starch 
grains, which are simple or compound, and measure four 
to fifteen microns in diameter. Good microscopical 
pictures can be obtained best from small tear-like pieces. 
The larger, better sorts often show no trace of histological 
structure. The tragacanth should be permitted to swell 
but slightly in order to best bring out its structure. 
Chemistry. — Tragacanth consists of varying propor- 



OILS, RESINS, OLEORESINS, GUM RESINS, AND BALSAMS. 37 

tions of bassorin (tragacanthin 50 per cent.) and a gum 
soluble in water. It also contains starch, cellulose, 
water (14 per cent.), mineral constituents (3 per cent.), 
sugar, and traces of organic acids and coloring-matters. 
The soluble gum is not identical with arabin, in that it 
precipitates with lead acetate. 

Adulterations. — Such are not common, as tragacanth 
is such a typical product. Other gums, such as Cara- 
manca and Moussul, have been used. These are said 
to be derived from wild plum and apricot trees. 



OILS, RESINS, OLEORESINS, GUM RESINS, AND 
BALSAMS. 

In taking up this series a complicated and as yet im- 
perfectly understood group of substances is approached. 
Their chemical structure has been widely investigated, 
and many facts of vital interest are known, but pharma- 
cologically these bodies are in need of much more ex- 
tended investigation. 

In part it must be remembered that most of these 
compounds are not simple chemical bodies. They are 
usually mixtures of resins, oils, gums, and aromatic acids 
making balsams. Therefore the group of oils, resins, 
gum resins, and balsams makes a natural group of closely 
allied substances — physically and chemically, if not 
pharmacologically . 

From the very earliest times the pleasant odors that 
have been given off by plants have attracted the atten- 
tion of travelers, and, either because of their odors, 
agreeable tastes, or medicinal virtues, many of these 
aromatic plants have entered into the world's commerce 
up to the present time in their original form, being either 
previously dried or prepared in some commercially pos- 
sible manner. With the improvements in technology 
this class of aromatic compounds, made up for the most 



38 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

part of this group of oils, resins, and balsams, has been 
prepared in purer and better conditions. 

VOLATILE OILS. 

Of the plant products, the spices and aromatics have 
from the very beginning ministered to the needs and 
welfare of man, and have, therefore, been appreciated 
by him in a special degree. As a result, they have 
been a prominent and influential factor in the inter- 
course of nations, as well as in the world's com- 
merce. After several thousand years of study and actual 
use of the spices in their original form, their essential 
constituents — the volatile oils — have, since the middle 
ages, and more particularly in modern times, been 
successfully isolated in their natural freshness and entire 
efficiency. 

A historical retrospect of the part played in history 
in the commerce of these same spices would prove very 
interesting, but hardly profitable for present needs, but 
the trade in spices is as old as civilization and had its 
early beginnings in the land of Adam and Eve, and 
much of the exploration of eastern countries was carried 
on by the spice hunter, the ancient analogue of the gold 
hunter of to-day. 

It has been only within recent years, however, that a 
true knowledge of the volatile oils has been gained, but 
it is a most interesting chapter in medicine — that of the 
use of this class of compounds as incense, cosmetics, and 
for sanitary purposes. The ancient Egyptians knew 
that the volatile oils were good antiseptics, even if they 
did not appreciate that they contained phenols; and 
it may be well doubted if the embalming art of to-day, 
with its formaldehyde, carbolic acid, etc., can approach 
that of the time of the Pharaohs. The Greeks used the 
Spices very widely in medicine — sandal being one of the 
favorites. The Arabians fostered the process of dis- 
tilling handed down from the Egyptians. 



VOLATILE OILS. 39 

Otitis, of Amida, a physician and writer, who lived 
in Constantinople during the beginning of the sixth cen- 
tury, wrote a treatise on the distilling of empyreumatic 
(volatile) oils. Rose water was vised by the Arabians 
in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries as an eye-wash, 
and rose oil sugar was employed much as we employ 
turpentine on a lump of sugar for intestinal flatus by 
the physicians of the Caliph of Monacco in the tenth 
century. Indeed, rose oil and camphor were current 
remedies throughout these times. The use of alcohol to 
extract the volatile oils was taken up in the beginning 
of the fourteenth century, and distilled aromatic waters 
and alcoholic solutions of aromatics were very widely 
employed in medicine. The alchemistic chemical litera- 
ture of the Middle Ages is filled with the discoveries of the 
various volatile oils that could be extracted from plants. 

It is of interest to note that one of the greatest of all 
"quacks," as judged by modern standards, Paracelsus 
(1493-1541), was the real founder of a school that taught 
that it was the chemical substance within a drug that 
was the real agent of value and not the whole drug 
(Iatro-chemical school), an idea that was pregnant with 
large results. 

The modern era of knowledge concerning volatile oils 
may be said to have begun with the analysis of the 
stearoptens by Dumas in 1833, and following him a host 
of chemists have cleared up the chemical composition 
of a number of important series of compounds, although 
there are yet many unknown factors in their construc- 
tion. Hoffman, an authority, says that the chemistry 
of the volatile oils is but in its initial stages, and who will 
dare say that their pharmacology is by any means 
clearly understood? It is not many years since menthol 
was introduced into medicine, and it is but a forerunner 
of a large class of similar bodies whose limitation of 
action must first be studied. 



40 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

The volatile oils are widely distributed in the vege- 
table kingdom. The phanerogams or flowering plants 
are particularly rich in them. From the cryptogams 
volatile oils are known only from the male-fern, Dryopteris 
Filix mas, and possibly from ergot. These oils are found 
in the various organs of the plant, the leaves, stem, 
flowers, fruits, and roots. The microscopical examina- 
tion shows the oils to exist in special glandular structures, 
either on the surface of the leaves, as in peppermint, or 
in special secretory passages in the structure of the plant, 
as in turpentine or in eucalyptus, etc. 

What function the volatile oils may serve in the plant 
economy is a matter of much conjecture. They are 
probably katabolic products so far as the metabolism 
of the plant is concerned; but there is little doubt but 
that in the case of many fruits their extreme pungency 
is self -conservative to the plant, protecting it from the 
ravages of insects, birds, and mammals. The biting 
taste of many of the leaves also probably contributes 
to their preservation from animal, notably insect, de- 
struction. 

The volatile oils, it should first be impressed, are not 
definite chemical compounds. They are complex mix- 
tures of many substances belonging to many classes of 
compounds. The volatile oil from one and the same 
plant shows many variations in structure, according to 
the part of the plant used, and radical differences in 
the odor, physical properties, and physiological action 
may be found in the oils derived from different organs 
of a plant, the stem and the flowers, for instance. This 
variation in chemical structure of many drugs is a car- 
dinal principle. 

Volatile oils, however, are grouped under one generic 
head because they are prepared in much the same manner 
and because they possess many common physical and 
chemical characteristics, and in so much as they are 



VOLATILE OILS. 41 

similar in their chemical characters they react similarly 
physiologically. 

In elemental composition volatile oils are alike. They 
all contain carbon and hydrogen. Most of them con- 
tain oxygen and a few contain nitrogen or sulphur, or 
both. Most of the volatile oils contain many hydro- 
carbons and other compounds as well. These com- 
pounds belong to either the aliphatic organic compounds, 
or to the aromatic series, and a number of classes of 
these are found. The hydrocarbons are of wide occur- 
rence, particularly terpenes, C 10 H 16 . From the stand- 
point of the perfumer the oxygenated compounds are 
the most important, since they impart the characteristic 
odors. 

The other compounds found associated with the 
hydrocarbons may be alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ke- 
tones, phenols, phenolethers, lactones, oxides, sulphides, 
nitriles, and isothiocyanates. 

The hydrocarbons of both aliphatic and aromatic 
nature are known; heptane, C 7 H 16 , from a species of 
pine, being the lowest paraffine. The higher hydrocar- 
bons of this series include many of the waxes and waxy- 
like coatings of leaves. The wax candles made by the 
early colonists from the waxberry, or Myrica, represent 
some of these higher hydrocarbons of this paraffine 
group. The oils from arnica flowers, from chamomile, 
dill, caraway, sassafras leaf, wintergreen, sweet birch, 
and wild bergamot contain members of this series. 

In the aromatic series the more characteristic volatile 
oils are obtained. Styrene (C 6 H 5 . CH = CH 2 ) represents 
the lowest of this group. It is found in oil of storax, 
and probably results from the breaking-down of cinnamic 
acid. 

The principal aromatic hydrocarbons belong to the 
class of terpenes, with the general formula C 10 H 16 . The 
majority of these are found ready formed in the plant. 



42 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

The more important terpenes are the following : Pinene, 
from various species of Pinits. It is an important con- 
stituent of turpentine and is one of the few terpenes 
obtained in a pure state. Artificial camphor is a halogen 
compound, C 10 H 16 HC1. Camphene, from volatile oils 
of ginger, spike, citronella, turpentine, valerian, cam- 
phor oil, and others. It is the only solid terpene known, 
all the others being mobile liquids, which on exposure 
to the air, oxidize and are converted into resins. Limo- 
nene, from the oils of orange, lemon, bergamot, mandarin, 
neroli, caraway, dill, fennel, celery, and others, is one of 
the most widely distributed of the terpenes. Phellan- 
drene, from the oils of anise, fennel, elemi, star-anise, 
ginger, curcuma, pepper, camphor, angelica, sassafras 
leaves, Ceylon cinnamon, golden rod, lemon bay, pepper- 
mint, etc., is one of the most unstable of the terpenes. 

Another class of hydrocarbons is the sesquiterpenes, 
C 15 H 24 . These are polymerized products of hemiterpene, 
C 5 H 8 . They have been studied but slightly. Cadinene, 
which is found in many oils, cade, savin, cedarwood, 
cubeb, asafetida, ylang ylang, camphor, etc., is the most 
important. Caryopkyllene, found in cloves and in bal- 
sam of copaiba, is another. Humulene is a sesqui- terpene 
in the oil of hops. 

Alcohols are common in the volatile oils. They are 
seldom free alcohols, however, the combinations being 
with fatty acids and esters. Methyl alcohol, as methyl 
salicylate, is one of the most widely distributed. Ethyl 
esters, propyl and butyl combinations, hexyl and octyl 
alcohols arc known. 

Olefin alcohols arc also present. Linalool is one of 
the most important and widespread. It occurs in the 
oils of spike, lavender, sage, thyme, bergamot, origanum, 
ylang ylang, sassafras leaf, etc. Linalool acetate is the 
most important ingredient of bergamot oil. Geraniol, 
di olefinic alcohol, C 10 H 18 O, is isomeric with the former. 



VOLATILE OILS. 43 

It is characteristic of the oils of geranium, lemongrass, 
citronella, lavender, sassafras leaf. 

Aromatic alcohols are few, but of practical interest. 
Benzyl alcohol, as benzoates and cinnamates, is of im- 
portance in the balsams of tolu and Peru. Other im- 
portant members of this group are terpineol, borneol, 
and menthol. The two latter are camphor-like bodies, 
the former prevalent in Borneol camphor, and in the 
oils of spike, rosemary, sage, thyme, etc. ; menthol is 
a characteristic ingredient of the peppermint oils. It 
is a saturated secondary alcohol, as follows: 

CH 3 CH 3 

\ / 
C— H 

cU 
/\ 

H 2 C CHOH 

I I 
H 2 C CH 2 

\/ 

CH 

u 

Aldehydes are frequent and impart characteristic odors. 
Citral, citronellal, benzaldehyde, and cinnamic aldehyde are 
the most important. 

Ketones are few in number. Carvone, camphor, thu- 
yone, and pulegone are ketones. Ordinary camphor, or 
Japan camphor, C 10 H 16 O, distinguished from Borneol 
camphor, is the most important of this group. 

Within recent years a number of phenols have been 
obtained from the volatile oils and prepared on a large 
scale. The most important of these are thymol (C 6 H 3 CH 3 , 
C 3 H 7 OH) (methyl propyl phenol), from thyme; car- 
vacrol, from origanum oil; anethol, from anise; eugenol, 
from the oil of cloves. Closely related to these phenols 
is apiol, which is found in the oil of parsley. 

Of less frequent occurrence and yet of interest are 
the nitrogen and sulphur compounds found in the mustard 



44 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

oils and oil of bitter almonds, cherry laurel, and wild 
cherry bark. In wild cherry bark, cherry laurel, the 
nitrile compounds form the basis of hydrocyanic acid 
(HCN), which is the nitrile of formic acid, HCOH(N), 
whereas the sulphur compounds found in mustard oils 
make the volatile oil of mustard and impart to it its 
rubefacient and stimulating qualities. 

It can be seen, therefore, from the consideration of 
the chemistry of this class of bodies, that whereas terpenes 
are to be found in all of them, the presence of more active 
compounds, such as the ketones, the phenols, nitrile 
compounds, and thiocyanates, overshadows the weaker 
terpenes physiologically. This emphasizes the necessity 
of making a provisional classification of the volatile 
oils along chemical rather than botanical lines. A de- 
tailed consideration of the various classes from the 
physiological point of view belongs properly to the sub- 
ject of pharmacology. 

RESINS. 

The resins as a class are difficult of definition. They 
play an important role in pharmacy and medicine, how- 
ever, and a knowledge of their composition is impera- 
tive. Like the oils, resins are not definite compounds, but 
mixtures of chemical substances. In their general gross 
characters they closely resemble gums in that they are 
hard and more or less tenacious. They are insoluble in 
water — a point to be remembered as a feature of chemical 
incompatibility. For the most part resins are soluble 
in ether, in alcohol, and in carbon disulphide. They 
are rich in carbon, poor in oxygen, and lacking in 
nitrogen, and burn with a sooty flame. No resins are 
chemical entities. The resin that flows from a wound 
in a resiniferous plant to-day may differ slightly in the 
percentage of its chemical constituents from that which 
flows to-morrow, and the resin derived from one part of 



RESINS. 45 

the plant may vary very radically from that obtained 
from another. The chief chemical constituents of resins 
are ester- like unstable resene (esters of resins, tannols), 
very stable resine, and in some instances aromatic acids, 
such as cinnamic and benzoic acids, in which instances 
the resins are frequently termed Balsams, although this 
is not a valid distinction. The balsam fir of the Adi- 
rondacks that yields the so-called Canada Balsam, so 
widely used in microscopy, does not contain any of these 
aromatic acids, but is nevertheless termed a balsam. 

Hard resins and soft resins, or those that will powder 
and those that will not, was a distinction made by the 
older chemists, but inasmuch as the differences are really 
due to the percentages of volatile oil contained, it is 
evident that such a distinction is not of permanent value. 

In general, pharmacognosy distinguishes three kinds 
of resins: (i) Ordinary resins, (2) gum resins, and (3) 
balsams. The gum resins are characterized solely by 
their containing a large percentage of gums. By bal- 
sams is meant either ordinary resins which, like turpen- 
tine or Canada balsam, are rich in ethereal oils, holding 
the resin for the most part in solution, making syrup- 
like compounds, or those bodies which are really poor 
in resins, but are made up of resin-like substances with 
aromatic acids, like benzoic or cinnamic acids — such as 
is seen in Balsam of Tolu, Balsam of Peru, Styrax, etc. 

Color, transparency, hardness, fracture, tenacity, and 
streak are all features of pharmacognostic interest. The 
solubility of resinous bodies is of importance. The 
resins are insoluble in water; the gum resins, especially 
those very rich in gums, make emulsions when mixed 
with water. Solubility in alcohol, ether, carbon disul- 
phide, turpentine oil, benzol, petroleum, ether, and 
acetone varies widely, but these are the best solvents. 
The reaction of resins and gum resins to chloral hydrate 
is of chemical interest. Many are completely soluble in 



46 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

chloral hydrate, 60 per cent, solution. Some, particularly 
the fossil resins, simply swell up. Chloral hydrate, 60 
per cent, solution, is one of the few solvents that puts 
both gum and resin in the gum resins into solution. 

As to the formation of the resins in plant tissues it is 
enough to know that they exist either in special secretory 
channels, usually in the woody portions of the plant, 
or they flow into the tissues and make artificial passages 
for themselves. As to the origin of the resins, they may 
be considered in part as retrogressive metamorphic 
products, largely from tannins, cellulose and from starch, 
but there are many exceptions. 

Chemically it has been pointed out already that the 
resins are extremely complex, as would be supposed 
when one considers the different sources from which 
they may come. The whole subject is a fascinating 
one, yet very complicated. It may be considered, how- 
ever, that many of the resins start as oxidized products 
of some of the terpenes. In fact, most of the resins 
show series of compounds, as esters, alcohols, etc., that 
shows either their origin from volatile oils, or a like 
origin for each class of compound by metamorphosis of 
the cellulose and starch constituents in the cell wall or 
in the cell body. Polymerized terpenes seem abundant 
in the resins (C 5 H 8 , C 10 H 16 , C 15 H 24 , C 20 H 32 ). Sesqui- 
terpene (C 15 H 24 ) is present in a number of resins — Cade, 
Galbanum, Olibanum, Asafetida, Copaiba. 

Thus it becomes evident that in this class of bodies 
one finds a closely allied series of compounds of like 
though varying composition, and it would be natural 
to suppose that pharmacologically and therapeutically 
they form allied groups. This is the fact, and if the 
knowledge of the elementary composition of a drug 
teaches that one has to deal with certain volatile oils 
or resins or balsams, then one knows at once what may 
be expeeted pharmacologieally and therapeutically. 



RESINS. 47 

As an illustration of the extreme complexity of the 
resins the following chemical formula for Asafcetida is 
shown : * 

(i) Free ferulic acid. 

C 6 H 3 (OH) (OCH 3 ) CH = CH— COOH. 

(2) Vanillin, C 6 H 3 (OH) (OCH 3 ) CHO. 

(3) Ethereal oil. This contains 

Terpene, C 10 H 16 
Disulphids C 7 H 14 S 2 

(C 10 H I6 O)n 
C 8 H 16 S 2 

(4) Gum. Ether insol. 

(5) Resin. (Asa resinotannol, C 24 H 33 4 , OH.) 

(6) Ether sol. resin — asa resinotannol — which yields 

Resorcin, C 6 H 4 (OH 2 ). 

Protocatechuic acid, C 6 H 3 (OH 2 ) COOH. 

As an illustration of the complexity of a balsam the 
ultimate chemical analysis of Balsam of Peru is as fol- 
lows: 

(1) Free cinnamic acid, C. aid., C 6 H 5 , CH. CH, CO, H. 

(2) Vanillin, C 6 H 3 (OH) (OCH) CHO. 

(3) Cinnamein (fluid portion of balsam), consisting of 

much benzoic acid, benzyl esters, C 6 H 5 , 

COO, CH 2 C 6 H 5 
Little cinnamic acid benzyl ester, 
Peruviol (C 13 H 22 0), C 6 H 5 CH equals CH, COO, 

CH 2 C 6 H 5 . 

(4) Resin. Ester of Peru resinotannol, C 18 H 19 4 OH, 

which yields cinnamic acid, benzoic and the 
Peru resinotannol, C 18 H 19 4 OH. 
Only the more important of this group will be here 
studied. 

* Wiesner: Die Rohestoffe des Pflanzenreichs. Hoffman, Volatile 
Oils. Tschirch, Die Harze. 



48 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

CAMPHORA. CAMPHOR. 

Camphora is a stearopten (having the nature of a 
ketone) obtained from Cinnamomum Camphora (Linne), 
Nees et Ebermaier, and purified by sublimation. 

Cinnamomum Camphora is a tree 100 to 150 feet high, 
a native of eastern Asia, where it is found in large num- 
bers, both cultivated and wild. Camphor tree contains 
camphor in all parts of the plant (perhaps failing a little 
in the flowers), either in crystalline form or dissolved in 
ethereal oil. 

By processes of oxidation camphor, C 10 H 16 O, is formed. 
The method of preparing for commerce varies some- 
what in the different provinces where it is manufactured. 
In Formosa the trees are felled and the stem reduced to 
chips. These are brought to simple ovens and exposed to 
steam, and the vapors arising containing camphor are 
condensed on the inside of rude receptacles, sometimes 
iron pots, and from these scraped and sent for sublima- 
tion. The Formosa camphor thus prepared is crude, 
dark, and impure. 

In many of the Japanese provinces the chips and por- 
tions of the plant are boiled in water in iron pots, the 
vapor which arises condensing on straw or bamboo, 
from which it is broken and packed for subsequent 
purification. Japanese crude camphor is somewhat red- 
dish in tint. 

In the refining processes the crude camphor, which 
has a variety of foreign bodies included in it, is mixed 
with various materials, coal, sand, or iron filings, heated 
over a sand-bath, sublimed, and collected. In some 
American manufactories the vapor is received in a cooling 
room and precipitated as is sulphur. It is then pressed 
in cakes and in this shape appears in the market. 

Description. — It is white, translucent, irregular, crys- 
talline, waxy, shining, solid, breaking with a waxy tough 






TEREBINTHINA. TURPENTINE. 49 

fracture. The odor is characteristic, the taste some- 
what aromatic and at first burning, later bitter with 
after-effect of cooling. Its specific gravity is 0.993; it 
melts at 175 C. ; sublimes at 200 C. Camphor is vola- 
tile at ordinary temperature. It powders with any 
liquid in which it is insoluble. It crystallizes in the 
hexagonal system; is soluble in 1200 parts of water 
and is readily soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, 
glacial acetic acid, carbon disulphide, acetone, and 
benzol. It liquefies with chloral hydrate, or phenol, 
thymol, resorcin, etc. 

Chemistry. — Pure camphor is C 10 H 16 O; a ketone which 
does not combine with bisulphites, but from this a 
large number of derivatives are made by heating with 
other substances. 

Camphor is now being made from turpentine on a large 
scale. 

TEREBINTHINA. TURPENTINE. 

Turpentine is a concrete oleoresin obtained from 
Pinus palustris, Miller, and from other species of Pinus. 

It is sometimes termed Terebinthina communis, in 
distinction from Terebinthina Canadensis and Terebin- 
thina Venetia. 

Terebinthina is derived mainly in the United States 
from Pinus palustris and Pinus Tceda, but almost all of the 
larger pines yield it. The habitat from which most of 
it is gathered is on the east coast from Canada to Florida 
and west to Texas. Much is also being gathered in the 
woods of Canada and the Northwest. Commercially 
North Carolina and Georgia furnish most. 

Turpentine exudes naturally, but the process is slow. 
For commercial purposes deep incisions or gouges are 
made in the trees and the resin collected in troughs. 
The earlier incisions give the best product. In the 
following years the flow (yellow dip) is scanty, and the 
products give but four gallons of oil to the barrel, in 
4 



SO VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

comparison with six given by the first or virgin dip. 
Scrapings are even less rich in oil, giving one to two 
gallons to the barrel. 

In its crude liquid state it is rarely seen on the market, 
but in its more solid form it consists of yellowish, 
opaque, tough, sticky masses; when cold, crumbly and 
brittle. The odor is peculiar, the taste bitter, acrid, 
and somewhat aromatic. Purer kinds are apt to be 
whiter ; the less valuable ones yellowish to brownish and 
blackish, with much chip and scrapings. 

The resin in the tree is dissolved in the oil and is 
formed in special secretory passages by the metamor- 
phosis of the lining cells of these passages. 

Chemistry. — Turpentine is a resin dissolved in ethereal 
oil. This oil of turpentine will vary from 15 to 30 
per cent. ; the resin or rosin of commerce (Colopho- 
nium) ranging from 60 to 80 per cent. ; water, 5 to 10 per 
cent., holding bitter stuff in solution, precipitated by tan- 
nic acid; small quantities of abietinic acid (C 44 H 64 5 ). 

TEREBINTHINA VENETIA. VENICE TURPENTINE. 

Venice turpentine is derived from the European larch, 
Larix Eur ope a, by boring holes to the center, from 
which the resin slowly flows. It was handled in the 
tenth century by the Venetians, hence the name. The 
tree is native throughout the greater part of Europe, 
but the parts where it is much used are southern France, 
northern Italy, a little in the southern Tyrol, and much 
in Styria. 

The holes are plugged during the winter, but in the 
following spring the plugs arc withdrawn and more 
olcoresin collected, the process being repeated yearly. 

Description. — It occurs in clear to yellowish and brown- 
ish masses, transparent in the finer grades, after being 
kept some time apt to show slight fluorescence. Solidi- 
fies slowly, non-crystalline. The odor is terebinthinate 



CANADIAN TURPENTINE. 5 I 

and balsamic, taste aromatic to bitter and finally acrid. 
Miscible with absolute alcohol, acetone, acetic acid, 
amyl alcohol. Polarizes light to right. 

Chemistry. — The ethereal oil — 15 per cent. — is made 
up of two parts, one distilling at 1 5 7 F. , the other, smaller, 
at i9o°F. The resin is freely soluble in acetone, alcohol, 
and benzol. 

Adulterations. — Other resins dissolved in turpentine. 

CANADIAN TURPENTINE. 

Canadian Turpentine is an oleoresin derived from 
Abies balsama, sl tree of the northern parts of North 
America, also extending southward along the high 
mountains as far as Virginia. 

The oleoresin is contained in superficial secretory 
passages lying mainly in the outer bark. These are 
somewhat flattened, blister-shaped, and are punctured 
with appropriate instruments, the turpentine issuing 
from them as a viscous fluid with a yellowish or greenish 
color, sometimes slightly fluorescent. It has a pleasant 
and durable aromatic odor. The taste is terebinthinate 
and sharp, at times acrid. 

Chemistry. — Water extracts a bitter stuff; oil, 20 to 
25 per cent.; resin, elastic or tenacious and clear yel- 
lowish. Ethereal oil consists of a carbohydrate, C 10 H 16 , 
and a small amount of an acid oil ; the two differentiate 
at 1 6 7 and i7o°F., respectively. 

The resin of Canada balsam rotates light to the right, 
is non-crystalline, refraction index 1.52, soluble in abso- 
lute alcohol, 75 per cent, residue in ether, soluble in 
xylol, chloroform, benzol. It remains clear and darkens 
slightly on standing. 

COLOPHONIUM. RESIN. ROSIN. 

Colophonium is the residue left after distilling off the 
volatile oil from turpentine. 



52 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

A transparent, amber-colored substance, hard, pul- 
verizable; fracture glassy and shallow conchoidal; odor 
and taste faintly terebinthinate. 

The better kinds of colophonium are yellowish to 
brown, transparent, breaking with a very splintery, 
shallow and conchoidal fracture. It melts at about 90 
to ioo° C. The pieces vary in shape and size. The 
inferior grades vary from greenish, brownish to blackish 
red. These shades are due to the heat of distillation, 
and in part to the species of pine yielding the resin. 

Rosin is soluble in alcohol, acetone, ether, chloroform, 
CS 2 , which solutions show a mild fluorescence and chloral 
hydrate. With solution of KOH and NaOH it forms 
rosin soaps. Taste and odor terebinthinate. 

Colophonium is derived mainly from Finns palustris, 
Miller, and other species of pine, found largely in the 
United States. 

Chemistry. — A certain amount of residual turpentine 
is always present and generally a small percentage of 
water. It also contains pinic and sylvic acids, and the 
anhydride of abietic acid (C 44 H 62 4 ), which latter is the 
most important ingredient. 

By dry distillation a large number of products are 
obtained, one of the many being a resin oil, Harzol, con- 
sisting of methyl alcohol and a hep tan, C 7 H 16 , with other 
derivatives. 

DAMMAR. 

Dammar is a resinous exudation or a mixture of resins 
from a vast variety of sources. That which is usually 
found in the European and American markets is derived 
from Dammar a officinalis, Lamb., or Agathis Dammar a, 
Rich., a member of the Abietinecz, a native of Molucca 
and East Indian Islands, also of the Philippines and New 
Zealand.* 

* Concerning the many doubts which have been raised regarding 
the origin of this resin consult Wiesner: Die Rohstoffe des Pflanzen- 
reichs, new edition, p. 253. 



DAMMAR. 53 

It flows spontaneously from the main stems and also 
from the roots. In some regions, as the mountains of 
Sumatra, the resin falls in large masses from spontan- 
eous fissures; in other regions wounds are made in the 
trees, with a corresponding greater yield of resin. It 
comes into commerce in large masses five to fifteen inches 
in diameter, or in small pieces one to three inches in 
diameter. 

It is light yellowish, transparent in small pieces, 
smooth, fragile, breaking with clean, conchoidal, glassy 
fracture, and is readily powdered. It melts at about 120 
C. and is intermediate in hardness between Colophonium, 
which melts at ioo°C, and Copal, melting at i8o°C. 
The fresh resin has a terebinthinate odor and taste, but 
older specimens may be odorless and tasteless. 

Chemistry. — It contains traces of an ethereal oil, dam- 
marolic acid, C 54 H 77 3 (OH) (COOH) 2 , and two resins.* 

It is insoluble in water, partly soluble in cold alcohol 
and ether, completely soluble in benzol, xylol, chloroform, 
CS 2 , soluble in concentrated H 2 S0 4 , with red color, and is 
thrown down by water as a white powdery precipitate 
from this solution; it is partly soluble in ether, alcohol, 
toluol, acetic acid, petroleum ether, acetone, and anilin. 
In an 80 per cent, solution of chloral hydrate it swells 
very markedly, but does not become soluble even after 
extended action of the chloral. 

* Tschirch and Glimann, Arch, der Pharmacie, 234, 1896, p. 585, 
have determined the composition about as follows: 

Dammarolic acid 23.0 per cent. 

Water 2.5 

Ash 3.5 

Impurities 8.0 

A. Dammar- Resin, sol. in alcohol 40.0 

B. Dammar- Resin, insol. in alcohol 22.5 

Residue — Ethereal oil, bitter principles, etc. . . 0.5 



54 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

COPAL. 

The different copal resins are derived from a great 

variety of plants, both fossil and recent, the botanical 

names of which are not definitely determined. The 

name is applied to a number of extremely hard resins ; 

softer varieties appear in the English market under the 

name Animi. The harder sorts of copal are derived 

from fossiliferous trees. 

In the recent state the resins may be obtained from 

species of Trachylobium mossambicense, Klotzsch, Hy- 

mencBa and Guibourtia copallifera, from Africa, South 

America, and the West 

Indies. 

It occurs for the most 

part in irregular pieces, 

spherical, flattened or 

angular, pale yellowish 

in the better sorts, to 

reddish and brownish, 

the surface being irreg- 
Fig. 4 —Copal. ular and warty> [ n t h e 

Superficial view of gum copal. ^ M 1 a -i 

Zanzibar and Ancola 
variety, covered with a crust in the South American 
copals. It is hard, in the mineral scale about three, 
transparent or translucent, with a glassy concave frac- 
ture, having a tendency to break in six-sided fragments. 
It is odorless and tasteless. 

As the sources from which this resin is derived are num- 
erous and as each kind varies somewhat, the description 
becomes extremely complicated. A few of the more 
important kinds may be mentioned. 

Zanzibar and Mozambique Copal. — This is found in drops 
3 to io cm. in diameter or in flattened plates with a trans- 
verse diameter of io to 20 cm. Opaque, mixed with sand, 
finely warty. On fracture, which is brittle, the broken 





copal. 55 

surfaces show a yellowish brown, transparent or trans- 
lucent center. High melting-point up to 300 C. 

West African Copals. — A variety of copal comes from 
different parts of West Africa. These, like southeast 
African sorts, are usually from recent fossil sources. 

South American Copals. — From different members of 
living Ccesalpinacese, mainly from Hymencea Courbarii, 
L., and also from Trachylobuim, Vouapa, and Idea, 
species indigenous to Brazil, Guiana, Colombia, and the 
Antilles. These occur in root-shaped pieces, 10 cm. 
long, 2 to 3 cm. thick, with irregular warty surface. 
In color they vary from yellow to deep green, very clear 
and homogeneous. They are not as hard as the African 
copals, and they have a lower melting-point, 200 C. 
The taste is bitter and it has a sourish, mucilaginous 
odor. 

Manila Copals. — Varieties of copal resin are found 
throughout these Indian islands, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, 
the Philippines, especially in Luzon and the Moluccas. 
These copals are widely used, being of the cheaper grades. 

They are derived mainly, according to most authors, 
from Vateria Indica, L., but Wiesner is inclined to believe 
that more of the Manila copals are really derived from 
Dammar a orientalis. The copals derived from species 
of the DipterocarpecB are distinguished from those derived 
from the Coniferecs by the solubility of the former in 
chloral hydrate. It is largely according to this chemical 
test that Wiesner rejects Vateria as the origin of these 
Manila copals. 

The resin appears as lumpy, root-like, and tear-like 
fragments. There is no weather crust, such as is seen in 
the East and West African copals and in the Kauri copal. 
It is opaque and turbid, becoming clearer in the inner 
mass. The colors are extremely variable, brownish, gray 
to milk white, sometimes honey -yellow. The taste is 
aromatic and the resin adheres to the teeth in biting. 



56 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

KAURI. COWRIE. 

Kauri Resins or Kauri Copals are resins from New 
Zealand derived from Dammar a Australis, and in New 
Caledonia commonly from Dammara ovata. 

Most of the resin is found imbedded in the earth in the 
so-called Kauri Fields, which are located in the northern 
islands. The pieces vary in size, from two to three to eight 
to ten inches in diameter, mainly roundish, the surface 
being irregular and showing the effects of weathering. The 
fracture is brittle and glassy. Externally the fragments 
are whitish and yellowish, gray or deep brown, even vary- 
ing widely in a single piece. The color of the resin within 
varies greatly, yellowish to brownish, changing even in the 
same piece. Often foreign matters are included, beetles, 
flies, and pieces of vegetable matter. The odor is bal- 
samic, the taste somewhat woody. The resin softens in 
the mouth and sticks to the teeth. The melting-point 
varies from 180 to 240 C. 

Chemistry. — The chemical composition of these copals 
is still in need of much study. Being so very diverse in 
origin, they vary widely. Tschirch and Stephan* have 
shown that a specimen of Zanzibar copal has the following 
composition : 

Trachylolic acid, C 34 H 85 3 (OH)(COOH) 2 . 80.0 percent. 

Isochylolic acid (melting pt. io5°-io7° C.) 4.0 

Resin and copal resin 6.0 

A. resin (C 41 H 08 O 4 ), melting pt. 75 C. 

B. resin (C 25 H 38 4 ), " " i4°° C. 

Impurities 0.4 

Ash 0.12 

Bitter principles (ethereal oil, etc.) 9.40 

SANDARAC. 

Sandarac is a resin derived from a member of the pine 
family, Callitris quadrivalvis, which is a tree indigenous 
to the northwestern parts of Africa. It is slightly culti- 
vated in the tropical regions of Europe. 

* Archiv der Pharmacie, 234, 1896, p. 552. 



SANDARAC 57 

The resin lies in oval schizogenous passages which are 
from three to six in number and are situated in the paren- 
chyma of the inner bark. While in the plant the resin 
is comparatively fluid, containing ethereal oils, these 
evaporate readily upon exposure and thus the resin 
hardens. 

The resin is collected from natural and artificial open- 
ings in the bark, and occurs in various tear-shaped pieces, 
elongated, cylindrical, pear-shaped to spherical. The 
longer pieces are sometimes 2 to 3 cm. in length and 5 mm. 
in diameter. In warm weather the pieces are liable 
to run together. 

In the finer varieties the color is yellowish, transparent, 
with sharp, brittle, dusty fracture. This dust usually 
covers the pieces, giving them their characteristic dull 
color. Sp. gravity 1.04 to 1.09. It softens at ioo° 
C, and melts at 135 C, giving off an aromatic odor. 
Inflammable at higher temperature. No ash. The 
taste is bitterish. On mastication sandarac powders 
and cannot be chewed. It is soluble in alcohol, 96 
per cent., in ether, amyl alcohol, acetone, and ethereal 
oils, like anise oil. It is less readily soluble in chloro- 
form, CS 2 . It is insoluble in benzol and petroleum ether. 

Chemistry. — It contains traces of an ethereal oil which 
is little known. It contains two free acids, Sandaracol 
acid, C 43 H 61 3 (OH) (OCH 3 ) COOH, a white crystalline 
substance with a melting-point of 140 C, and Callitrol 
acid, C 64 H 82 5 (OH) COOH, which forms colorless prisms 
melting at 248 C. Tschirch and Balzer* give the follow- 
ing composition : — 

Sandaracol acid 85.00 per cent. 

Callitrol acid 10.00 

Water 0.56 

Ash o . 1 o 

Impurities 1.50 

Bitter stuffs, oil, etc 2.84 



100.00 per cent. 
* Archiv der Pharmacie, 234, 1896, p. 289. 



58 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

MASTICHE. 

Mastiche is a resin derived from trees of the natural 
order Anacardiaceae or the Cashew family, the most 
common being Pistacia lentisctts, a tree about fifteen feet 
high, a native of the Mediterranean basin. 

In the tree the resin lies in a number of passages among 
the sieve tubes of the phloem portion of the stem, from 
which it exudes through artificial incisions made about 
the middle of June. The incisions are made numerous 
and small, from the root and running up to the branches 
in a longitudinal direction. The resin in the main stems 
exudes freely, being very fluid and aromatic. After ten 
to twenty days it is sufficiently hard to collect and pack. 
From the twigs the small pea-like pieces are collected. 
According to Fliickiger, the whole process lasts two 
months and a single tree yields about ten pounds. 

Description. — The better sorts of mastiche are small, 
spherical or ovoidal lumps about o. 5 to 2.0 cm. in diameter, 
colorless or clear yellow in color, transparent, with a shiny 
glassy surface, which may later become clouded by means 
of dust. The fracture is sharp and brittle with little dust. 
In hardness it is intermediate between dammar and san- 
darac. The odor is slightly aromatic, the taste somewhat 
terebinthinate. The resin, when crushed in the teeth, 
holds together and can be chewed. 

Inferior sorts are darker in color, more irregular in 
shape, and are often contaminated with portions of the 
bark and with foreign particles and dust. 

Chemistry. — Its specific gravity is 1.07. It softens at 
about ioo° C, and melts at 103 to 108 C. It is readily 
soluble in amyl alcohol and oil of cloves. The greater part 
is soluble in alcohol ; this part has an acid reaction, and has 
been called X resin or Masticin acid, 80 to 90 per cent., 
C 20 H 82 O 2 ; the insoluble portion, soft or B resin, 10 to 20 
per cent., has been termed Masticin, C 20 H 32 O. It con- 



GUAIACI. RESINA GUAIAC 59 

tains also an ethereal oil, one or two per cent. C 10 H 16 , 
made up for the most part of pinene. There is a bitter 
stuff extracted by water. 

Other Kinds and Adulterations. — Pistacia Terebinthince, 
from North Africa, yields a mastiche, Chios turpentine, 
which closely resembles ordinary mastiche. It has the 
same turpentine taste, but is free from the bitter principle 
of mastiche, and is more completely soluble in alcohol. A 
variety of the species also gives a mastiche. Bombay 
mastiche is by Fliickiger regarded as allied with the pre- 
vious type This mastiche resembles Chios mastiche 
closely, is soluble in acetone, rotates light to the right, 
is generally less yellow and more opaque. 

GUAIACI RESINA. GUAIAC. 

The resin of the wood of Guaiacum officinale, Linne. 
The heart wood of Guaiacum officinale, a tree indigenous 
to the West Indian Islands and the northern coast of 
South America, contains 15 to 30 per cent, of resin, and is 
the chief source of guaiac resin. It may be obtained 
from deep incisions in the bark, but the usual method of 
collection is that of extraction by burning. The resin lies 
in nearly all the elements of the wood, it being particularly 
rich in the vessels, which are sometimes completely filled. 

In the market it appears in irregular pieces, reaching 
one to one and one-half inches in diameter, the surface 
somewhat watery, greenish to brownish, dusty. As it is 
usually mixed with portions of the charred wood its 
fractured surface will vary considerably, being brownish, 
greenish, glassy or dirty, according to its purity. Small 
pure pieces or splinters are transparent, shining, greenish 
or brownish in color. Freshly powdered the color is 
grayish brown. Later by oxidation in the air the powder 
becomes greenish in color. The odor on heating is 
aromatic. The taste is at first sweet and bitter, later 
sharp, irritating, and astringent. 



60 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

The specific gravity is about 1.20 and it melts at about 
8 5 C. It is insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, with 
brownish yellow color, also soluble in amyl alcohol, 
chloroform, acetone and caustic alkalies ; sparingly soluble 
in oil of cloves and cumarin. Practically insoluble in 
petroleum ether, benzol, or carbon disulphide. The 
alcoholic solution has a slight acid reaction, and by oxi- 
dation becomes blue or green, which color is also more 
rapidly developed on the addition of ferric chloride or 
other oxidizing agent, as chlorine, iodine, or bromine. 

The resin consists of (a) Guaiaconic acid, C 20 H 22 O 3 
(OH) 2 , which makes up about 70 per cent, of the resin. 
It is amorphous, bright brown, odorless and tasteless, 
melts at 95 to ioo° C, is insoluble in water, easily soluble 
in alcohol, ether, acetic acid, and chloroform. The salts 
are amorphous, the alkali salts soluble in water and alcohol. 

(b) Guaiaretic acid (Guaiac resin acid, C 18 H 18 (OCH 3 ) 2 
(OH) 2 ), about 10 per cent. From alcoholic solution it 
crystallizes out as rhombic needles, which have a slight 
vanilla-like odor, melts at 75 to 8o° C, is insoluble in 
water, soluble in ether, chloroform, acetic acid, benzol. 
Its alkaline salts are crystalline and are soluble in water. 

(c) Guaiac beta resin; C 20 H 19 O 4 (OH) 3 , about 10 per 
cent. Insoluble in ether. 

(d) Guaiac acid; C 6 H 8 3 , sparingly found. 

(e) Guaiac yellow; C 20 H 20 O 7 , the yellow coloring- 
matter of the resin, odorless, bitter, easily soluble in 
alcohol, ether, carbon disulphide. 

By destructive distillation a number of products are 
obtained. Tiglin aldehyd, CH(CH 3 ); guaiacol, C 6 H 4 - 
(OH)(OCH 3 ), and pyroguaiacin, C 12 H 10 (OH)(OCH 3 ), and 
creosol, C 6 H 3 (OH)(OCH 3 )(CH 3 ), are among the most 
important. 

Adulterations. — Guaiac is frequently adulterated by 
colophonium ; its turpentine odor is usually sufficient to 
detect the sophistication. 



BENZOINUM. BENZOIN. 6l 

BENZOINUM. BENZOIN. 

Benzoinum is a balsamic resin obtained from Styrax 
Benzoin, Dryander, a medium-sized tree native of 
Sumatra, and portions of India, in which places it is also 
extensively cultivated. It is probable that the Siam 
variety is derived from another source.* The resin has its 
origin for the most part in the cells of the middle bark, but 
the secondary medullary ray cells also contain some resin. 
The contents of the resin-producing cells are at first in- 
creased, the cell becomes swollen, and later there appear 
drops of resin within the cell. The cell walls then break 
down, being absorbed from the inside, which results in the 
formation of lysigenous passages in the bark. These 
gradually increase to a large size. 

Artificial incisions are made in the bark in April and 
May from which the clear resin flows; that from the 
younger trees (five years) being the best quality. As 
the tree grows older the resin grows darker, and when the 
tree is about twenty years old it is frequently cut, and 
yields, along with pieces of wood and bark, inferior grades. 
The terms head, belly, and foot benzoin have been used to 
designate the benzoin derived from the trees at these 
respective times. 

The resin is received at Sumatra or Bangkok in canoes, 
sampans, and is sent from there to the ports of export, 
Singapore, etc. 

Several varieties need to be distinguished. These 
are Sumatra, Siam, Penang, etc. 

Sumatra benzoin comes in large masses. These are 
somewhat irregular and porous, and have a general 
reddish or greenish brown color. Imbedded here and 
there are a number of whiter pearls or "mandels," 3 to 5 
cm. in diameter. The relatively greater number of these 
mandels indicates a better sort of benzoin. Inferior 

* Fliickiger: Pharmakognosie ; Holmes: Phar. Trans., 1891, p. 518. 



62 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

grades are very poor in " mandels," or tears, the product 
is darker brown, more porous, and has a greater admixture 
of foreign matter, chips, pieces of bark, sand, etc. 

The general melting-point is about 90 C, that of the 
tears about 85 C. It has a pleasant odor, made more 
evident by warming, and a somewhat aromatic and later 
biting taste. When chewed it at first becomes powdery, 
but later the pieces adhere in masses. 

Penang benzoin may be a fine variety of Sumatra. 

Siam benzoin is a much more highly prized benzoin 
and appears in the market in different ways. Sometimes 
it comes in more or less loosely agglutinated tears, at other 
times in masses, somewhat resembling the Sumatra 
benzoin. The former is a purer variety, and the mass con- 
sists almost exclusively of tears, 2, 3 to 5 cm. in diameter; 
these are almond to pebble-shaped masses, of an orange 
or brownish red color. Their fracture is soft, somewhat 
fatty, the outer layer being somewhat reddish. Inside 
the color is a pearly white, which later, on exposure to the 
air, becomes reddish. The masses are somewhat similar 
to those of Sumatra, but are darker yellow or brown and 
whitish, or pure white internally. 

The melting-point is about 75 C. The odor is stronger 
and more suggestive of vanilla. The taste is similar to 
that of the Sumatra variety. Foreign bodies are also 
likely to be included. 

Chemistry. — The drug consists of from 70 to 80 per cent, 
of amorphous resin, 14 to 24 per cent, of free benzoic acid, 
ethereal oils, cinnamic acid. 

Tschirch and Ludy* give the following composition for 
Sumatra benzoin : 

Benzaldehyd Traces 

Benzal Traces 

Vanillin i .o 

I'henylpropylester of Cinnamic Acid i.o 

Styracin 2.0-3.0 

Resins 75.0 

Woody impurities 14.0-1 7.0 

* Archiv dcr Pharmacic, 231, 1893, p. 43. 



COPAIBA. BALSAM OF COPAIBA. 



63 



The resins are two, the Cinnamic acid benzoresinol 
ester, C 16 H 25 2 , C 9 H 7 0; and the Cinnamic acid suma 
resino tannol ester, C 18 H 19 4 , C 9 H 7 0. These esters are 
broken up into benzoresinol, 5.2 per cent., resinotannol, 
64.5 per cent., and cinnamic acid, 30.3 per cent. 

COPAIBA. BALSAM OF COPAIBA. 

Copaiba is the oleoresin of Copaifera Langsdorffi (Des- 

fontaines), O. Kuntze, and of other species of Copaifera. 

The species of Copaifera are members of the family 




Fig. 



-Copaiba. 



Resin-passages in wood of copaiba: m, Medullary rays; g, vessels; 
h, resin-passages. 

Leguminosece, and are widely distributed in the regions of 
Brazil, Venezuela and the northern portion of South 
America generally, Costa Rica and the West Indies 
also.* They are trees and there are about ten species 
that are widely used. Those from which the balsam is 
collected are for the most part: Copaifera officinalis 
Jacq., Copaifera Guyanensis (Desf.) O. Kuntze, Copaifera 
coriacecB (Mart.) O. Kuntze, and Copaifera Langs- 
dorffi. Occasionally, in addition to these main species, 

* Karsten, Bot. Ztg. XV, 316, 1859. 



64 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

Copaijera confertiflora, Copaifera oblongifolia, and Copai- 
fera multijuga, also give balsam. 

The balsam is found in large, lysigenous passages in trie 
wood of the plant, resulting from a degeneration of some 
of the xylem elements, at first the woody parenchyma, 
later the vessels. These passages may become long 
channels over an inch in diameter, traversing almost the 
entire length of the trunk of the tree. The resin is found 
in passages in the leaves also. 

For commercial purposes the resin is obtained by boring 
holes or making half round or triangular incisions (boxes) 
deep into the heart wood of the tree. These holes or 
''boxes" soon fill with resin, and as it flows out it is 
collected in appropriate vessels. As much as ten to 
fifteen pounds may flow in twenty-four hours. After 
tapping or if unsuccessfully tapped, the wound is closed 
and revisited, the tapped trees usually yielding after an 
interval. The trees are tapped as much as three times 
a year. 

The chief export towns are in Brazil and Venezuela, 
which give the names to the chief varieties exported, 
thus: Rio, Para, Maranham, and Maracaibo balsams. 
Slight differences exist in each. 

Description. — The resin varies within narrow limits, 
according to the age and amount of evaporation of the 
oil. In general it is a somewhat viscid liquid, yellowish 
to brownish in color. It is generally clear, at times 
turbid. The product from Para is lighter in color and 
thinner in consistency, whereas that from Maracaibo is 
the thickest and brownest. The specific gravity varies 
from 0.93 to 1.2. 

The odor is aromatic and characteristic; the taste 
sharp and bitter. It is soluble in absolute alcohol, ether, 
chloroform, benzol, carbon disulphide, also in fixed and 
volatile oils. 

Chemistry. — Balsam of Copaiba consists of solutions 



ASAFCETIDA. 65 

of resins in ethereal oils. Para contains 60 to 80 per cent. 
oil; Maranham, 40 to 60 per cent.; Maracaibo, 20 to 90 
per cent. 

Copaiba oil is a mixture of isomeric hydrocarbons, the 
sesquiterpene, caryophyllen, C 15 H 24 , being, according to 
Hoffe, the only definitely known constituent. It is a 
colorless, yellowish, or brownish liquid, specific gravity 
0.900 to 0.910, with a boiling-point of 250 to 275 C. 
It is laevorotary. 

The acids are copaivic, oxycopaivic, and metacopaivic 
acid, varying in the different varieties. 

The resin is a liquid, amorphous mass which is acid in 
reaction and brittle. There is also a bitter principle 
which is soluble in water. 

Adulterations. — The most common adulterant is tur- 
pentine; also other oils, linseed, castor, and, recently, 
cottonseed. The first is recognized by the odor on heat- 
ing, the fixed oils by the lower boiling-point, and by their 
leaving a heavy, sticky residue. 

ASAFCETIDA. 

Asafcetida is a gum resin obtained from the root of 
Ferula foetida (Bunge), Regel. 

Although the Pharmacopoeia limits the producing 
plant, it is quite probable that asafcetida is obtained from 
two or even three or four species of Ferula. (Peuce- 
danum.) Some of these are Fenda Narthex (mentioned 
in the Pharmacopoeia of 1880), a native of northwestern 
Thibet; Fenda fcetidissima, east Persia {Peucedanum 
albacein, Baillon) ; Fenda Jaschkeanum, Vatke (P. J. 
Baillon), a native of Cashmere. 

The main sources are, however, Ferula foetida and 
Ferula Narthex . The former is a tall, coarse herb of the 
UmbelliferecB, five to ten feet high, widely distributed in 
the Eastern Asiatic provinces, from Persia, Turkestan, 
and Afghanistan. 
5 



66 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 



Production. — The product, in the form of milky juice, 
is found throughout the plant, but that coming from 
the root is alone used. In the root it is formed by small 
cells which line large, long and unbranched schizogenous 
passages, richest in the parenchyma of the bark. 

The milk sap canals in the secondary bark are very 
large, their diameter being as great as 70 to 130 microns 
in Ferula Narthex; 130 microns in Ferula albacea. Some- 
times a number of canals will coalesce, forming a passage 
560 to 600 microns in diameter. They have a concentric 

arrangement. The 
passages in the vessel 
portion of the plant 
are generally much 
narrower, from 80 to 
40 microns in diam- 
eter. 

In most of the ac- 
counts given of the 
collection, in the 
main, it is said that 
the root is carefully 
cleaned from wither- 
ing leaves and then 
cut off close to the 
ground, while a shal- 
low pit is made about its base. The entire plant is 
thus covered over with leaves for five to six weeks. 
In May the covering is removed and a thin slice of 
the root is cut off and the juice that exudes is scraped 
off into appropriate receptacles. The plant is then 
covered, and in a few days, three to ten, a second slice 
is taken and the process repeated until the root is ex- 
hausted. 

Description. The juice first collected is apt to be thin, 
and it is this earlier juice that is apt to be adulterated with 




Fig. 6. — Asafcetida. 

Milk-canal containing secretion in root: 

s, Secretory cells; i, secretory passage. 



ASAFCETIDA. 67 

organic matter, clay, stones, gypsum, etc., the ingenuity 
of the natives sometimes being remarkable. The later 
product, especially if care has been taken in the collecting, 
is thicker and more resinous and yields the better type 
of gum resin. 

The milky juice as it first exudes is whitish; then by 
oxidation it becomes reddish to violet, and later, brown. 
In the market there appear several grades running 
gradually one into another, from the liquid amygdaloid, 
tears to stony, representing different grades of hardness, 
and the predominance of certain kinds of lumps in the 
mass. In the warmer and temperate climates, at least, 
most of the asaf oetida becomes amalgamated into masses ; 
the embedding substance being reddish to brownish and 
holding a number of roundish, tear-like or granular 
masses, which have a wax-like fracture, are whitish in the 
center, but undergo the same color changes. 

The better the sort of asaf oetida, the greater the number 
of tears and the less the embedding substance, and vice 
versa, the poorer sorts containing impurities up to 50, 
60, or even 70 per cent, of the entire mass. Two sorts 
alone are regularly recognized in commerce, Tear and 
Lump. 

The odor is peculiar, somewhat alliaceous, and the 
taste is sharp, bitter, and persistent. 

Under the microscope the appearance is of an un- 
homogeneous mass. If small pieces of asaf oetida are 
examined in oil, the main portions resemble a homogen- 
eous gummy substance with small, spherical, irregular 
resinous masses sprinkled here and there ; in places free 
from these resinous masses at times ; in other places there 
may be numerous granules of resin and drops of ethereal 
oil. Mixed with water, an emulsion results with much 
mechanical motion. This motion, however, is less than 
that observed when other gum emulsions are studied. 

Chemistry. — When cold, good varieties of asaf oetida 



68 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

can be powdered, and when rubbed up with water, yield 
a milky emulsion. In alcohol it is but partly soluble, 40 
to 60 per cent. 

In general, asaf cetida consists of resin, 50 to 70 per cent, j 
gum, 20 to 30 per cent., allied to, yet distinct from gum 
arabic ; ethereal oil with sulphur as high as 30 per cent. ; 
vanillin, 0.06 per cent.; free ferulic acid, 1.28 percent.; 
water and ash and impurities up to 5 per cent. The 
quantitative proportions vary with the age and goodness 
of the gum, the softer kinds being richer in oil. The 
purest asaf cetida should yield but 4 per cent, of ash ; up 
to 10 per cent, should not necessarily constitute adultera- 
tion, but beyond that amount sophistication is a cer- 
tainty. 

The resin of asaf cetida is soluble in alcohol, in acetic 
acid with a clear solution; in acetone, acetic ether, and 
chloroform, cloudy; in ether and potassium hydrate, 
partly soluble; in petroleum ether, carbon disulphide > 
and benzol, insoluble. Ether separates a soluble and an 
insoluble portion, the former of which is an asaresino- 
tannol of ferulic acid ester. Sulphuric acid splits this 
ester up into umbelliferon, and a resin alcohol, C 24 H 33 4 , 
OH. The insoluble portion is free asaresinotannol. 

The ethereal oil is clear yellowish with the character- 
istic odor and mild stimulating taste. Specific gravity 
0.975 to 0.990. It contains at least one terpene and 
some sulphur compounds. 

GALBANUM. MOTHER RESIN. 

Galbanum is a gum derived from different species of 
Ferula, Ferula galbaniflua, H. Baillon, a plant of northern 
Persia, and Ferula rubricaulis , Boissier, from southwestern 
Persia, plants of the natural order Umbellifereae. 

The resin is found in nearly all parts of the plant, in 
large schizogenous channels in the outer cortex, but is 
obtained from the stems and sometimes from the bases 



GALBANUM. MOTHER RESIN. 69 

of the leaves as a simple exudate. As a rule, no single 
method of collection is followed, but similar methods to 
those practised for collecting asafcetida may be employed. 
Freshly exuded galbanum dries into tear-like masses if 
undisturbed. These sorts constitute the better varieties. 
If the exudate runs together, masses are formed; these 
may be commingled with bits or slices of the stem, in- 
dicating hasty collection. 

Description. — When in a fresh state, the resin is a 
fluid, milk white, but by oxidation becomes yellowish and 
thick, finally becoming hard. In the market it may 
generally be found in irregularly aggregated grains 
from 0.5 to 1.5 cm. in average diameter, externally light 
to dark brown, lighter within, at times whitish to bluish 
green. The grains are soft and break readily with an 
irregular fracture. Some samples come into the market 
with a large percentage of oil, which renders them some- 
what viscid. The taste is sharp, somewhat aromatic 
and bitter. The odor is unpleasant to many people; 
it is somewhat aromatic. 

If a small portion of the resin is placed upon a sieve in a 
beaker glass with Ca(OH) 2 , a sheath of bluish fluorescence 
can be seen on the surface, the rest of the fluid remaining 
brownish. A similar reaction, Fliickiger states, is seen 
with asafcetida. Ammonia gives negative results. If 
galbanum is mixed with hydrochloric acid, specific 
gravity 1.12, at the end of an hour, sooner upon warming, 
a brilliant red color is produced.* 

Chemistry. — Galbanum is a mixture of varying quan- 
tities of ethereal oil, 9.5 per cent., resin, 63 per cent., and 
gums, 27 per cent.; ash is about 8 per cent. 

Galbanum resin is an umbelliferon-galbaresinotannol. 
Ether breaks it up by KOH into umbelliferon and gal- 
baresinotannol, C 18 H 29 2 OH, which forms a brown amor- 
phous powder. 

* Fliickiger: Lehrbuch, p. 65. 



70 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

The oil is transparent and yellowish, specific gravity 
0.910 to 0.940, and yields among other products of dis- 
tillation a sesquiterpene (Cadinene, C 15 H 24 ) between 270 
and 2 8o°C. and d-pinene between 160 and i6i°C. 

AMMONIACUM. AMMONIAC. 

Ammoniacum is a gum resin derived from the stems of 
Dorema. Ammoniacum, D. Don., a forest plant of Persia. 
Other species of Dorema yield similar products. 

The plant has an abundant supply of milky juice which 
exudes spontaneously and hardens in variously shaped 
masses. Fine tears, varying in size from 2 to 5 mm. up 
to the size of a hazelnut, are obtained from insect punc- 
tured wounds,* while the so-called ammoniacum amyg- 
daloides is obtained from the root of the plant. 

The resin is found in special secretory passages similar 
to those found in asafcetida and galbanum. In ammoni- 
acum they lie in contact with the vessel bundles. 

Lump ammoniacum and Tear ammoniacum occur in 
commerce. The former consists of miscellaneous masses 
of debris of sticks, stones, etc., with pressed together tear- 
like masses. 

Tear ammoniacum is made up of large tear-like granules. 
These granules vary greatly in size, from small bird-shot 
to larger nut-shaped masses. They are generally trans- 
lucent, whitish to yellowish or brownish. Internally they 
show a waxy lustre in fracture. At ordinary temperatures 
the granules are wax-like or sticky, sometimes running 
together in viscid masses. In the cold the ammoniacum 
is brittle. The taste is sharp and bitter, later aromatic. 
The odor is peculiar and aromatic, distinct from gal- 
1 ic'inum , but by no means as unpleasant as that of asafcetida. 

Microscopical. — Under the microscope ammoniacum 
shows as a gummy, homogeneous ground mass in which 
small kernels and droplets are intermingled. Small 
* Hart: Tr. Linnaean Society XVI, 1833, p. 605. 



MYRRHA. MYRRH. 7 1 

splinters of resin may be seen which show irregular and 
finely-toothed edges. On the addition of water the 
gummy ground mass is dissolved; the granules and 
droplets forming emulsions. 

Chemistry. — Ammoniacum consists of a mixture of 
varying proportions of ethereal oils, i to 2 per cent., 
resins, gums, 65 to 70 per cent., and pectin-like bodies. 
Ash 20 per cent. A certain amount of water is always 
found in the commercial product. 

The ethereal oils are found in small quantities only, 
generally less than 10 per cent. It is soluble in CS 2 . 
The resin is to be distinguished from other resins, ac- 
cording to PfLugge,* in that its alcoholic solution gives a 
red reaction when added to a bromide of sodium solution 
(30 gr. NaOH in Aq. Br. 20 gr. Aq. 1 liter). Umbelliferon 
would seem to be absent. 

MYRRHA. MYRRH. 

Myrrha is a gum resin obtained from Commiphora 
Myrrha (Nees), Engler, a small tree native of Arabia and 
the northeast coast of Africa, where, however, a number 
of allied species are to be found. 

Myrrh flows spontaneously from the bark, being an 
emulsion-like fluid, and is formed in the inner bark in 
schizogenous passages, there lying amid parenchyma tic 
secretory cells. 

As the myrrh first exudes, it is soft and yellowish, clear 
or turbid, becoming as it hardens more golden and clear, 
finally golden yellow to reddish. In the market it ap- 
pears as irregular, angular lumps, made up of a number 
of smaller lumps or tears, the surface being irregular 
and rough, yellowish to reddish, translucent, yellow, 
waxy. The fracture is also waxy and the cut surface is of 
the same color or darker, even brown, or specked with 
lighter pieces, some white. Very hard pieces have a 

* Archiv d. Phar., 221, 1883, p. 21. 



72 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

splintery fracture, small pieces of the splinters being 
transparent. 

Myrrh powders with difficulty. Rubbed up with water 
it produces an emulsion which shows globules of oil, resin, 
and pieces of bark. 

The odor is agreeable and characteristic. It can be 
chewed and the taste is aromatic, later bitter to acrid. 




Fig. 7. — Myrrha. 
Cross-section of bark of Balsamea Myrrha: sb, Obliterated sieve 
tubes; st, bast-fibers; /, 5, coloring-matter and secretory cells; oe, oil and 
resin passages; rs, medullary rays; sc, stone cells (Tschirch). 



Dark colored pieces, and more particularly those that 
are soluble in water, should be rejected. 

Chemistry. — In alcohol and ordinary solvents myrrh 
is but slightly soluble. In hot water it gives up a bitter 
principle, and from 40 to 60 per cent, of gum. In ad- 
dition it also contains 4 to 5 per cent, ethereal oil and 25 
to 30 per cent, resin ; soluble in alcohol, which solution 



STYRAX. LIQUIDAMBER. STORAX. 73 

gives a violet reaction with HN0 3 . Ash 3 to 4 per 
cent. 

The ethereal oil, myrrhol, is clear yellow in color, thin, 
and soluble in alcohol and ether. It boils at 266 F., 
specific gravity 1.0159 acid. 

In the markets, Turkish, African, and Indian myrrh are 
to be distinguished. The former is thought to be the 
best gum, being the clearest. The African resembles it 
closely, with fewer whitish lines or pieces. The Indian 
is the darkest and the most impure. 

There are many other types of myrrh found in the 
market. 

STYRAX. LIQUIDAMBER. STORAX. 

Styrax is a balsam prepared from the inner bark of 
Liquidamber orientalis, Miller. The European plant is a 
member of the Hamamelidecz and is a native of Asia Minor 
and Syria. The American liquidamber, Liquidamber 
styraciflua, is a closely allied species. 

The balsam is found in passages pathologically in- 
duced in different parts of the trunk and stems, but does 
not seem to be found as accompanying any kind of tissue. 
It is found most plentifully in the phloem portion of the 
old stems, but apparently only after an injury done to the 
tissues. After such injury the balsam passages are 
found among the woody fibers, at first of schizogenetic 
origin, later lysigenous. 

The balsam is obtained generally from the bark by 
heating it in warm water in large receptacles ; often sea 
water is used. (Fllickiger.) The balsam is collected 
from the water and the bark is then pressed and used for 
a variety of purposes. 

Description. — Styrax is a thick, tough, opaque, semi- 
solid, sticky opaque mass, with a grayish to gray brown- 
ish color. On standing it deposits a heavier brown 
stratum. It is transparent in thin layers and has an 
agreeable odor and a balsamic taste. The purified drug 



74 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

is insoluble in water but soluble completely in an equal 
weight of warm alcohol. The crude drug has from 15 
to 20 per cent, of organic detritus, the main elements of 
which are readily distinguishable under the microscope. 

Chemistry. — The main constituents of styrax consist of 
cinnamic acid esters of various alcohols. According to 
Fehling,* the following is the composition of styrax: 

Styracin 5 to 10 per cent. 

Phenylpropyl cinnamate 10 

Cinnamic acid, Storesinester 10 to 20 

Alpha Beta Storesin 50 

Cinnamic acid 2 to 5 

Styrol 2 to 3 

Vanillin 0.5 

According to Miller, f the American styrax contains 
styracin and phenylpropyl cinnamate, whereas the ethyl 
and benzyl ester cinnamates are lacking. 

* Neues Handv, r 6rterbuch der Chemie VI, 1898, p. 1375. 
f Liebig's Annalen, 220, 1882, p. 648. 



DRUGS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN WITH ORGANIC 
STRUCTURE. 

POWDERED SUBSTANCES. 

STARCHES. 

Starch is one of the most widely distributed of plant 
products, being found in some of its many forms or 
modifications in nearly all families of the plant world. 

For the pharmacognocist a knowledge of the starches 
is one of the most useful helps in the examination of drug 
and food products. It is for him essential to know the 
more common starches, and in the official drugs so many 
of the starch forms are so constant that they are diag- 
nostic. The starches of the various roots and rhizomes 
will be noted under their appropriate heads, and it here 
remains to note some of the more important starches used 
as such. 

Starch for present purposes consists of small grains, 
irregular in shape, possessing certain characteristics. 
The intimate structure of these grains is a matter still 
in controversy. 

For the present the starch grain is supposed to have 
commenced at some definite point, spoken of in technical 
language as the ''hilum.'' About the hilum the starch 
grain has grown up — how, we do not venture to assert — 
until it comes to possess a more or less definite shape and 
size. The points in morphology to be noted are : shape, 
whether the grains are bounded by rounded or angular 
surfaces ; size ; grouping, whether the grains are single 
(simple) or arranged in groups (compound) ; presence 
or absence of a hilum; position of the hilum, in the 
centre, centric, or to one side, eccentric; shape of the 

75 



76 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITH ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

hilum, whether a point, a line, or a star-shaped figure, 
etc. ; finally, the presence or absence of markings, the so- 
called concentric annulations which are brought out most 
sharply by the polariscope. 

In the higher plants two main types are to be distin- 
guished: Assimilated Starch and Reserve Starch. The 
latter is partly starch of assimilation which has been dis- 
solved and has passed through the leaves and into the 
bark, where, passing from cell to cell, it is called transi- 
tory starch and is often in small grains 2 to 5 microns 
in diameter. From here it passes on and is found stored 
up in roots, stems, tubers, and seeds to serve as a reserve 
food-product. It is in this process of making the reserve 
starch that the activity of many of the leucoplastids is 
apparent, though reserve starch may perhaps be made 
without them. This reserve starch is generally in larger 
sized grains, which may measure from 30 to 200 // in di- 
ameter.* 

Starch grains vary widely in shape and size, being 
roundish, elliptical, or ovate. Their edges may be 
rounded. They may be angular, simple, made of in- 
dividual grains or sometimes crowded together as a 
compound grain with many-sided granules. At times 
their structure appears perfectly homogeneous, again 
they are distinctly laminated. In many grains there is 
a point, the hilum, which is in the centre, centric, or to one 
side, eccentric, around which these lamella? are arranged 
in concentric rings. Sometimes the hila are more than 
one, in which case a compound grain is formed. (Fig. 8.) 

Both the physical and chemical structure of the starch 
grain is imperfectly understood. It was at one time 
held that the starch grain was made up of two different 
bodies, starch cellulose (also called amylodextrin) and 
granulose, the former staining yellow with iodine, the 
latter blue. A later view has been that starch cellulose 
*A. Meyer: Die Starkekdrner, 1895. 



STARCHES. 



77 



is not normally present, but is the product of a diastatic 
ferment of some type, and that the starch grain is made 
up of granulose,* the lamellated appearance being due to 
alternating variations in the watery content of the granu- 
lose. This view of Nageli's has been taught for years, 
but there seem to be objections to it. 

In the practical identification of many vegetable 
products starch grains are the most important structural 
elements, and a key to the identification of the common 
starches in daily use is of ser- 
vice in the diagnosis of adult- 
erations. 

When examining specimens 
containing starch it is advised 
to examine the specimen first 
in water, then bring to the 
edge of the cover-glass a drop 
of strong alcohol. This pro- 
duces a streaming of the fluids 
under the cover-glass, rolls the 
specimens about somewhat, and 
thus gives a view of all sides of 
the starch grains. 

In certain drugs, such as 
Curcuma, Jalap, etc., the heat 
the specimen often modifies the shape 
grains. 

Classification. — There are numerous classifications of 
starch grains; the most important of these are to be 
found in Wiesner, " Mikroskopische Technologie," and in 
Nageli, " Starkekorner." The classification of Vogl is 
here given for reference. 

A. Granules simple, bounded by rounded surfaces. 
I. Hilum central, layers concentric. 

a. Mostly rounded or from the side, lens-shaped. 

* For the latest and best resume see Meyer, Die Starkekorner. 




Fig. 



8. — Starch Grains of 
Potato (Sachs). 



used in 



the curing of 
of the starch 



78 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITH ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

i. Large granules, 0.0396-0.0528 mm. Rye 
starch. 

2. Large granules, 0.0352-0.0396 mm. Wheat 
starch. 

3. Large granules, 0.0264 mm - Barley starch. 
b. Egg-shaped, oval, kidney-shaped. Hilum often 

long and ragged. 

1. Large granules, 0.032-0.097 mm. Legumi- 
nous starches. 
II. Hilum eccentric, layers plainly eccentric or 

meniscus shaped. 

a. Granules not at all or only slightly flattened. 

1. Hilum mostly at the smaller end, 0.06- 
0.0 10 mm. Potato starch. 

2. Hilum mostly at the broader end, or toward 
the middle in simple granules, 0.022-0.060 
mm. Maranta starch. 

b. Granules more or less strongly flattened. 

1. Many drawn out to a short point at one end. 

a. At the most 0.060 mm. long. Curcuma 
starch. 

b. As much as 0.132 mm. long. Canna 
starch. 

2. Many lengthened to bean-shaped, disk-shaped 

or flattened; hilum near the broader end, 
0.044-0.075 mm. Banana starch. 

3. Many strongly kidney-shaped; hilum near 

the edge, 0.048-0.056. Sisyrinchium starch. 

4. Egg-shaped; at one end reduced to a wedge, 

at the other enlarged ; hilum at the smaller 
end, 0.05-0.07 mm. Yam starch. 
B. Granules simple or compound, single granules or 
parts of granules, either bounded entirely by plane 
surfaces, many angled, or by partly rounded sur- 
faces. 
I. Granules entirely angular. 



STARCHES. 79 

i. With a prominent hilum. At most 0.0066 

mm. Rice starch. 
2. Without a hilum. The largest 0.0088 mm. 
Millet starch. 
II. Among the many angled, also rounded forms. 

a. Few partly rounded forms present, angular 

form predominating. 

1. Without hilum or depression, very small, 

0.0044 mm. Oat starch. 

2. With hilum or depression, 0.0132-0.0220 

mm. 

a. Hilum or its depression considerably 

rounded; here and there the granules 
united into differently formed groups. 
Buckwheat starch. 

b. Hilum mostly radiatory or star-shaped; 

all the granules free. Corn starch. 

b. More or less numerous kettledrum and sugar- 

loaf -like forms. 

1. Very numerous eccentric layers; the largest 

granules 0.022-0.0352 mm. Batata starch. 

2. Without layers or rings, 0.008-0.032 mm. 

a. In the kettledrum-shaped granules the 

hilum depression mostly widened on the 
flattened side, 0.008-0.022 mm. Cassava 
starch. 

b. Depression wanting or not enlarged. 

aa. Hilum small, eccentric, 0.008-0.016 

mm. Pachyrhizus starch. 
bb. Hilum small, central or wanting. 
aaa. Many irregular forms, 0.008-0.0176 

mm. Sechium starch. 
bbb. But few angular forms; some with 
radiatory hilum fissure, 0.008-0.0176 
mm. Castanospermum starch. 
C. Granules simple and compound, predominant forms 



80 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITH ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

egg-shaped and oval, with eccentric hilum and 
numerous layers, the compound granules made up 
of a large granule and one or more relatively small 
kettledrum-shaped ones, 0.025-0.066 mm. Sago 
starch. 

LYCOPODIUM. 

The spores of Lycopodium clavatum, L., and of other 
species of Lycopodium, found in Europe, Asia, and North 
America, in dry woods. 

Description. — Pure lycopodium forms a yellow, very 
mobile powder, which floats upon water and is rapidly 
ignited when thrown into a flame. Examined under 
the microscope, it is composed of spores 25 microns 
in diameter, of the shape of a triangular pyramid with 
convex base. The entire surface of the spore is covered 
by a delicate network of projecting ridges. When 
crushed, the spores burst and drops of yellow oil exude. 

Chemistry. — The chief constituents are 20 to 47 per 
cent, fatty oil, a volatile alkaloid, and 4 per cent. ash. 

Adulterants. — Lycopodium is frequently adulterated 
with starch, inorganic substances, sulphur, and pollen of 
coniferous trees. The appearance under the microscope 
is so characteristic that sophistication can readily be 
detected. 

LUPULINUM. 

Lupulinum consists of the glands obtained from the 
strobiles of Hitmidus Lupulus, L., a plant of the north 
temperate zone. 

Description. — Under the microscope, lupulinum is seen to 
consist of spherical bodies, containing two distinct halves. 
The lower portion is made up of small, flat, polygonal cells, 
the upper is a raised, homogeneous cuticle. The full- 
si zed gl and measures 2 50 microns in diameter, but will vary 
considerably in size and shape if the contents are less 



LUPULINUM. 



in amount. Contamination is very common and can 
easily be detected. 

Chemistry. — Lupulinum contains wax, 2 per cent, ethe- 




O 



® 





pp 



©11 a 




© mm. 




o ® 




Fig. 9. — Lycopodium. 

s, Lycopodium, adulterated with p, pollen of corylus; pp, pine pollen; 

a, wheat starch. 



real oil, 3 per cent, glucose, and 0.1 per cent, of resin and 
bitter substance. Two alkaloids have been described. 

6 



82 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITH ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 




Fig. io. — Lupulinum. 
Glands seen from different sides. 




Fig. ii. — Kama i, a. 
Glands and hairs. 






GALLA. GALLS. 83 

KAMALA. 

Kamala consists of the glands and hairs that cover the 
fruit of Mallotus Philip pinensis, a small tree of India and 
neighboring countries. The tree produces capsular fruits 
the size of a pea. These are completely covered by a red 
powder, which is simply shaken off. 

Examined under the microscope, kamala will be seen to 
consist of glands and hairs. The former are smaller than 
lupulinum glands, possess a depressed, globular shape, are 
filled with a red resin, and contain a number of club- 
shaped secreting cells radiating from a common centre. 
The hairs are thick- walled, curved, and are usually 
arranged in small groups. 

Chemistry. — The resin of kamala has been separated 
into six different principles: rottlerin, isorottlerin, two 
resins, wax, and a yellow pigment. 

GALLA. GALLS. 

An excrescence on Quercus lusitanica and other species 
of oak, caused by the puncture and ova of Cynips gallce 
tinctoria. 

These are produced by the female insect, who deposits 
her egg or eggs in a rapidly growing part of the plant, 
where, by the irritation produced, the tissues of the plant 
take on an abnormal and rapid growth, providing for the 
larvas a place of refuge against foreign enemies and also 
providing for them a store of food (the deposit of tannin 
seeming to be an added means of protection to the insect*) . 

After the larva has matured, it bores its way out of the 
gall and goes on to complete its development outside. 
(Unbored galls are preferred.) Up to the time of the 
escape of the insect the gall is usually greenish; after 
that it is apt to turn brown. 

*Adler: Deutsche entomolog. Zeitsch., 1887, 305, 352. 



84 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITH ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

The following varieties are common: (1) Aleppo; 
(2) Chinese galls. 

Aleppo Gall. — A small, circular, greenish gall, having 
a diameter of about 3 cm. It comes into the market 
under a variety of names according to the provinces 
from which it is derived — Smyrna, Tripoli, etc. 

They are somewhat shiny in their outer appearance, 
short-stalked, and on the upper side often rendered 
irregular by sharp-pointed warts or excrescences. The 
under side is smooth. 

The younger sorts are darker, greenish ; the older sorts 
are apt to be brown, reddish yellow, and hence, dark and 
light, or black and white galls. The former sink in water, 
the latter generally float. The point of departure of the 
insect is generally on the under side of the gall. If the 
larva has not developed, the gall, when cracked, is found 
to be full of loose parenchyma tic tissue, while if the larva 
has escaped, the gall is empty in the centre save for the 
webby remains of the insect's eating— sawdust. 

Some degree of variation is to be noted in different 
examples of the same type of galls under the low power, 
but in the main the following regions can be made out: 
The centre (5 to 7 mm.) is hollow, or if the larva has only 
partly matured the centre is filled with loose, small- 
celled, starch-filled cells (40 {/), starch in thick masses, 
and round tannin masses. On the outer border of what 
may be called the insect chamber is a thin sheath that 
separates this starch-bearing parenchyma from the 
outer gall. This sheath, perhaps one-half the diameter 
of the gall, is composed of yellowish stone cells, whose 
walls are thickened. The tissue of the outer gall is 
mainly parcnchymatic, loosely thickened by spiral cell 
structures, richly pored in the inside layer. Primary 
vessel bundles may run through the long diameter from 
the centre. These are mainly composed of spiral vessels, 



GALLA. GALLS. 



85 



with a few sieve-tube-like 
cells. Numerous crystals 
of calcium oxalate of both 
rhomboid and agglomer- 
ated types are found and 
the cell walls are nearly all 
thickened by rich deposits 
of tannin. The outermost 
cells are smaller and have 
thickened walls. 

Chemistry. — Tannic acid 
up to 70 per cent, of the 
best galls ; sugar, 3 per cent. 

Chinese and Japanese 
Galls. — These are produced 
on the young twigs of a 
species of Sumac, Rhus 
semialata, indigenous to 
northern and northwestern 
India and the Himalaya 
chain, and also in related 
species. The insects de- 
posit large numbers of eggs 
and would hatch a large 
brood. In collecting, the 
eggs or larvae are killed, 
generally by the applica- 
tion of steam. 

In general the galls may 
be said to be very irregu- 
larly egg-shaped, but all 
sorts of shapes are to be 
met with, the galls being 
bladdery with irregular 
projections and knobs, and 
twistings and contortions. 




gk 

Fig. 12. — Galla. 

Cross-section of an Aleppo 
gall: A, Outer portion of gall; J, 
inner portion; g, tannic acid and 
masses; kd, crystal sacs; kf, iso- 
lated crystals; st, stone-cells; p, 
parenchyma; gk, starch (Moeller). 

In general they run in size 



86 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITH ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 

from 5 to 8 cm. in length, and 2 \ to 4 cm. in width. 
The thickness of the rind is from 2 to 8 mm. 

The color is grayish-brown, sometimes having a soft 
brown bloom, which on being rubbed off reveals the more 
or less translucent brown shell of the gall beneath. 

The fracture is horny or splintery and the internal 
surface is smooth and generally lighter in color than the 
outside. In the interior, products of insect life may be 
found. The Japanese galls are usually smaller. 

Microscopical Characteristics. — An inner and an outer 
epidermis-like arrangement of cubical parenchyma cells 
is to be noted ; those on the outer wall having outgrowths 
of short one- to two-celled simple hairs. The centre of 
the rind is made up of parenchymatic cells which, from 
without inward, are at first tangentially arranged, and 
later grow larger, irregular, and mesh-like in disposition, 
while here and there are to be observed simple vessel 
bundles, made up of a few small spiral vessels and one or 
two small sieve tubes and sometimes milk (?) tubes. 

The cells of the inner region are cubical, somewhat like 
those of the outer wall, but may be arranged in but one 
or two layers. The parenchymatic cells contain irregular 
masses of tannic acid and a number of green circular 
bodies and small starch grains. 

Chemistry. — Tannic acid in large quantities; gallic 
acid, fat, resin, ash, 2 per cent. 

Other Galls. — A large number of other types of galls 
are used commercially, some of the most important 
being : 

(a) Hungarian Galls, derived from Quercus sessili- 
flora, and pedunculated, by means of insect, Cynips 
leguicola. Some are small; up to 1.5 cm. in size, red- 
dish brown in color. Again, there are large ones, 
on Otter cits pedunculata by means of Cynips Hungarica. 
These are grayish or brownish, circular, 3.5 to 5 cm. in 
diameter, with irregular warty surfaces. 



GALLA. GALLS. 87 

(b) German, Bohemian, and French Galls from dif- 
ferent species of oak, produced by Cynips Kallari, present 
certain variations. In general they are small circular 
galls, 1 to 3 cm. in diameter, light brown in color, generally 
smooth or with scaly epidermis, rarely warty. 

(c) Various American species of oak give galls, — Querais 
alba and bicolor, obtusifolia, vtrens, lobata, etc. These 
present a variety of aspects and are used locally in the 
manufacture of tannic acid. 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

ROOTS. 

General Structure of the Root. — For the purpose of the 
present study the root may be considered as the descend- 
ing portion of the plant, and is provided with neither 
leaves nor reproductive members. It is to be borne in 
mind that all roots are not underground, nor are all the 
subterranean parts of plants roots. Thus there are a 
number of plants with aerial roots, and still more numer- 
ous are those plants with stems that are underground and 
which serve some of the functions of roots. 

The function of the root may be threefold: It may 
serve the purpose of support, holding the plant to the 
earth and giving it its proper foundation; it may serve 
the purpose of taking in food, usually water holding 
inorganic salts in solution ; or it may serve the purpose of 
storing the food for the plant. Some roots serve all, 
others only one or two of these functions. 

The study of the general shape, size, and characters of 
roots belongs to the study of plant morphology and will 
not be taken up in this volume.* For the purposes of 
plant anatomy two types of root structure are to be 
recognized, Primary and Secondary. 

Primary Structures. — In the drugs of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia there are but few roots showing primary 
structures. In such, as in the young side roots of Arts- 
tolochia and Veratrum virtde, two fairly well differentiated 
portions may be distinguished, the central part or central 
cylinder (Stele), and the cortex (Extrastelar part). 

'Idic cortex is usually provided with a layer of flattened 

• Consult Rusbyand Jelliffe: Morphology and Histology of Plants. 

88 



ROOTS. 89 

cells on the outside, the Epidermis, which may or may not 
be supplied with hairs. The walls are usually slightly 
thickened and stained dark brown, owing to the process of 
suberization. Beneath the layer of cells constituting 
the epidermis are to be found several layers of irregular 
parenchymatic cells, the Cortex, the outer cells of which 
abut on the epidermis ; in some cases they are thickened 
and form a special layer or layers, the Hypodermis. The 
parenchyma of the cortex is frequently filled with starch 
and often contains cells which contain crystal sacs. 
Toward the periphery the cells of the cortical portion are 
more or less regularly arranged, but toward the centre 
they become more irregular. The innermost layer of 
the cortical portion -is often differentiated into a dis- 
tinct layer of regularly arranged cells. It is then termed 
the Endodermis, and serves a number of purposes. 
Its cells are often characteristic and diagnostic, very 
frequently the walls become peculiarly thickened and 
marked and starch grains are found in their cavities. 

The central cylinder (Intrastelar Tissue) varies widely 
in the different roots. It is in this portion of the roots 
that the differences between primary and secondary 
structures are most prominent. The layer of cells just 
beneath the endodermis is usually distinct from the rest 
of the central cylinder. It is termed the Pericycle or 
the Pericambium, and consists of thin- walled parenchy- 
matic cells. Inside are the vascular tissues or rudimen- 
tary fibro- vascular bundles. These, in most of the roots 
studied by the pharmacognocist, are arranged in a radial 
manner, the conjunctive tissue being about them, and in 
the center forming the pith. In some cases the fibrous 
portion of the bundles occupies the center (Veratrum 
viride). The number of fibro -vascular bundles varies 
greatly. Many roots are monostelar, but individual 
variations are constant. 

Secondary Structures . — In cryptogams and most mono- 



90 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

cotyledons little or no change takes place in the roots, 
but in gymnosperms and dicotyledons a series of changes 
take place which modify both cortex and central cylinder. 
In the cortex the cells of the epidermis become de- 
tached and new tissues grow in order to make the outside 
correspond with the internal growth. A layer of meris- 
tematic tissue, the Phellogen, becomes active, and new 
secondary cortical tissues are formed on the inside and a 
bark is made on the outside of this layer of growing cells. 
The bark of roots and stems differs somewhat; this will 
be touched upon under the subject of barks. Inside the 
endodermis, a structure which may disappear, a still 
greater change is taking place in the development of the 
fibro- vascular bundles. These commence to approximate, 
new meristematic tissues develop in their interfascicular 
cambium, the cambium itself becomes more prominent, 
forming cell groups just inside the pericycle and ex- 
tending to the bast groups. This, the fascicular cam- 
bium, and the cambium which develops between the 
bundles, the interfascicular cambium, soon join to form 
a continuous circle, and the cambium ring of dicotyledons 
and many gymnosperms is thus formed. By means of this 
cambium new structures are added to the xylem internally 
and to the phloem externally. The structures of the 
xylem of the secondary growth are similar in some respects 
to those of the primary growth, and yet in certain other 
features they differ; thus there are no spiral vessels 
formed, as a rule, in the secondary xylem, woody paren- 
chyma is commonly formed and the tracheal elements are 
found. 

SARSAPARILLA. 

Sarsaparilla is the root of Smilax officinalis, Kunth., 
Smilax medica, Smilax papyracea, and of other (unde- 
termined) species of Smilax (nat. ord. lAliacece). 

The main types in the United States markets are the 
Jamaica, Honduras, Mexican, and Para sarsaparillas ; 



SARSAPARILLA. 91 

though a variety of other kinds are found in various 
markets. 

Description. — The external conditions in brief are as 
follows : Jamaica sarsaparilla is bearded, reddish in color, 
ends cut, wound with the same root, and slightly wrinkled. 

Honduras is non-bearded, brownish, the ends rounded, 
wound with same kind of root, and slightly wrinkled. 

Mexican is non-bearded, in loose bundles, with the 
rhizome attached, wound with string of foreign root, 
deeply wrinkled, and the color varying from yellowish 
to black (according to the amount of dirt left on the 
rhizome) . 

The Para variety occurs in very large bundles, wound 
with various roots, and the ends cut. 

Sarsaparilla root comes into the market in a variety of 
shapes and sizes. The root is in general long, cylindrical, 
and thin ; being from i to 3 metres in length and 2 to 5 
mm. in diameter, wrinkled, of various shades from reddish 
to brown or black from adherent dirt, whitish within, 
inodorous, and of a mucilaginous, slightly bitterish taste. 

Histology. — A cross-section of the root shows the follow- 
ing structures from without inward : Under the low power 
there can be seen an outer cortical portion, whitish in 
color and surrounding an inner central portion of about 
the same color. Cutting demonstrates the fact that the 
outer cortical portion is soft, while the inner central or 
vessel portion is hard and resisting. Sharp examination 
will reveal a yellowish line between the two portions, 
the endodermis sheath, and also the presence of a pith in 
the centre of the structure. 

With compound microscope of high power the cortex 
is seen to be made up of at least three distinct types of 
cells — the epidermal, hypodermal, and cortical cells. The 
epidermal cells are hair-like and brown. They are 
frequently lacking. The hypodermal cells are thickened 
and brownish, and arranged in various rows from 2 to 7, 



92 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 




Fig. 13 
EP, Epidermis; 
endodermis; V, vascular portion 
tubes. 



Cross-section of Sarsaparilla. 
HP, hypodcrmis; C, corticalparenchyma; E, 



D, pitted vessels; F, fibres; S, sieve 



SARSAPARILLA. 93 

according to the variety of sarsaparilla and the type of 
soil in which the root grew. The cortical cells are more 
or less spherical, and contain, in some varieties, numerous 
starch grains and crystals ; in others the starch grains are 
fewer. The width of the entire cortical layer as com- 
pared with the central cylinder is of importance in the 
diagnosis of the variety. 

The cortical layer is separated from the central cylinder 
by a layer of thick- walled cells, the endodermis sheath, the 
contour of the cells of which is of much importance. 

Inside of the endodermis sheath there is a layer of thin- 
walled cells, and within this is a cylinder of vessel bundles 
arranged in a radial manner. The major portion of this 
cylinder of the vessel bundles is made up of the elements 
of the xylem, which completely inclose the phloem 
elements, almost hiding them from sight. 

The xylem contains vessels and fibres. The vessels 
are from 30 to 40 in number and are of the pitted type, 
the pores being both simple and bordered, and many of 
the smaller peripheral vessels have spiral markings. 
The fibres are very numerous and thick- walled ; their 
characters are manifest in the powder. 

The phloem consists of small groups of sieve tubes and 
parenchyma tic cells, immersed in the elements of the 
xylem. These sieve tubes vary widely, those at the 
periphery being small-lumened ; the inner ones are larger, 
and the sieve plates are exceedingly oblique. Inside of 
the cylinder of vessels there is a pith which contains 
elliptical to spherical cells, rich or poor in starch grains. 
The starch grains are apt to be compound grains of from 
2 to 6 granules. 

In attempting to separate the different varieties of 
sarsaparilla the following points are to be borne in mind : 
Comparative width of the cortical and central portions; 
shape and number of rows of cells of the hypodermis; 
shape and size of the endodermis sheath; variation of 



94 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

width of the woody cylinder and the pith; shape, size, 
arrangement, and amount of the starch grains. An 
important point to remember is that all of these characters 
are variable, however. The circumstances bearing upon 
the variability are: (i) the time when root is gathered, 
younger specimens having fewer hypoderm cells, the 
walls of the fibrous cells are thinner, the endodermis is 
thinner, etc. ; (2) the time of year when collected, the 
character and the amount of the starch grains varying 
with the season. The root also varies at different dis- 
tances from the rhizome; parts nearer the rhizome are 
uniformly stouter in all of the elements. Great varia- 
bility of the endodermis is to be accounted for in this 
manner. The following characters express the average 
rather than the absolute conditions : 

Microscopical Characteristics of Different Varieties. — 
In Honduras sarsaparilla under low power the cortical 
and central parts are seen to be about equal in size. 
Under high power the hypodermis of one or two layers of 
cells and some root hairs become visible. Just beneath 
two or three rows of thickened mechanical cells is the 
cortex proper, consisting of spherical cells with thickened 
walls having simple pores ; these cells are closely packed 
with starch grains. The endodermis consists of a single 
row of cells, more or less quadrangular, the wall usually 
being uniformly thickened or in some parts of the root a 
little thicker on the inside. 

In Para sarsaparilla the cortical portion is two or 
three times as wide as the central portion. The outer 
hypodermis is five to seven layers in thickness, the outer 
walls of these cells being slightly thicker than the inner 
walls. The cortical cells are rich in compound starch 
grains. The endodermis consists of cells somewhat 
radially elongated, which cells are thicker on the sides and 
inner walls, and conspicuously pored. The pith is white 
and broader than the vessel portion. Starch is copious. 



SARSAPARILLA. 95 

In Mexican sarsaparilla the cortical portion is from 
three to four times as thick as the central portion. The 
epidermis is quite often present, with root hairs. The 
hypodermis is three to five layers of cells wide, the outer 
angles of the cells are thickened; the lumen is small. 
The cortical cells vary in starch content. The endoder- 
mis cells are usually radially elongated, thickened on the 
sides and inner walls, of small lumen as a rule (though 
sometimes the lumen is considerable). The pith is 
broader than the woody ring, poor in starch, and rich in 
acicular crystals of calcium oxalate. 

In Jamaica sarsaparilla the cortex is usually half as 
wide as the central portion. The epidermal hairs are usu- 
ally more numerous than in other types. The hypodermis 
is arranged in two or three rows, its cells thickened on the 
outer wall and usually with small lumen. The cortex 
cells are poor in starch, and apt to be richly pitted. In 
the endodermis sheath, the cells are radially elongated, 
thickened on lateral and inner walls, and pored. The 
pith is as large as the woody cylinder, also pitted. Starch 
is scanty. 

Powdered Honduras Sarsaparilla. — A mixture of sev- 
eral sarsaparillas is almost impossible to detect, there- 
fore an average powder will be described. The chief 
microscopical characteristics are starch, crystals, paren- 
chymatic cells, both thick- walled and thin-walled, hairs, 
endodermis sheath cells, vessels, fibres, and phloem 
elements. 

The starch grains are very numerous, in twos, threes, 
fours, or even more decompounded; the hilum is usually 
centric and the edges are rounded. Single grains range 
from 5 to 15 microns in diameter, the compound grains 
varying from 12 to 20 microns. The crystals are of the 
acicular variety of calcium oxalate ; they vary in size, but 
average about 60 to 80 microns in length. 

The parenchymatic cells of the hypoderm are thick- 



9 6 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



walled, usually tinged with brown or yellow, and have 
one wall thicker than the other ; they are richly pored and 
do not contain any starch grains. Their average diameter 
is about 20 to 30 microns, and they run from four to 
eight times as long as broad; some are much shorter, 




ooaac2a=ioP^Sj£ 



Fig. 14. — Powdered Sarsaparilla. 
Epi, Epidermis; H, hairs; W. P, wood parenchyma; C, crystals; 
S, starch; Endo, endodermis; Fibr, fibers; Hyp, hypoderm; P.D, 
pitted ducts; TR, tracheids; P, P', P,, parenchyma; ST, hypoderm 
stone cells; V, fragments of ducts. 

resembling stone cells. The cortical parenchymatic cells 
arc uniformly thinner- walled, though the wall is not very 
delicate; in general outline they are usually cylindrical, 
some short, others much longer. The average cross-section 
of this parenchymatic tissue shows cells whose diameters 
range from about 50 to 100 microns, the cells nearer the 



RADIX BELLADONNA. BELLADONNA ROOT. 97 

periphery and those nearer the endodermis being usually 
the smaller. These cells are uniformly rich in starch. 
A number of them contain crystals. 

The hairs of the root of sarsaparilla, while not a con- 
spicuous part of the powder, yet afford a microscopical 
character of much diagnostic importance. They are 
short, irregular hairs with thin brown walls ; the general 
length is about 150 to 200 microns, and their average 
diameter about 20 microns. 

The cells of the endodermis are characteristic, yet in 
some powders can be differentiated from some of the 
hypoderm cells only with difficulty. They are thick- 
walled, richly pitted, and sometimes contain starch grains. 
Their average diameter is about 20 to 25 microns, and 
they are usually three to four times as long as broad. 
The vessels are of the spiral, reticulated, scalariform, and 
pored types, the pores being both simple and bordered. 
The diameter of the various ducts ranges from 75 to 250 
microns, the largest ones being found near the centre. 

Tracheids and cells transitional between tracheids and 
fibres are common. They range in diameter from 20 to 
30 microns. The fibres are present in numbers; they 
usually average about 20 to 25 microns in diameter, and 
are not infrequently 200 microns long. Some of the 
delicate-walled prosenchymatic elements, belonging to 
the sieve elements, may also be found. 

Chemistry. — The chief constituents of sarsaparilla are 
parillin, by some considered the active principle ; saponin, 
1 to 3 per cent. ; resin, of bitter, acrid taste ; starch, 
3 to 45 per cent. ; crystals of calcium oxalate and traces 
of a volatile oil. The ash constitutes 3 to 12 per cent. 

RADIX BELLADONNA. BELLADONNA ROOT. 

Belladonna Root is the root of Atropa Belladonna (nat. 
order Solanacecz). Habitat, Central and Southern 
Europe, in woods. 
7 



98 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Description. — The root is cylindrical, somewhat taper- 
ing, 1 to 2 cm. thick, grayish-brown externally, deeply 
furrowed longitudinally, and somewhat transversely 
above. Fractures smoothly, with discharge of dust; 
internal surface, white or yellowish-brown. Taste first 
sweetish, then bitter and acrid. 

Histology. — With the lupe a dirty white, mealy cortex 
is found within the grayish-brown periderm. It is 
separated from the wood by the cambium, and does not 
show a radial arrangement. The woody portion of the 
main root is radially striated at its periphery; in the 
branches this striation is very fine, and is continued to the 
centre with interruptions. In the centre itself a large 
vascular strand is found. Higher powers disclose several 
layers of brown cork cells in the periderm. The cortex 
consists of parenchyma cells, with a tangential elongation 
in the outer part of the section, but more rounded or 
quadrate internally. They are filled with starch and 
calcium oxalate crystals. The central portion is made 
up of alternating xylem bundles and medullary rays, not 
extending to the centre. The former are broad, and con- 
sist of a ground-work of thin-walled cells in which* radially 
arranged groups of vessels are imbedded. The medullary 
rays consist of amylaceous parenchymatous cells, which 
become continuous with the central parenchyma. The 
centre of the section shows a firm bundle of vessels. 

Powder. — The powder of belladonna is usually grayish- 
brown in color. 

The main histological elements found are starch, 
tracheids, fibres, and cork. Crystal sand forms an incon- 
spicuous element of the powder. 

The starch grains are numerous ; they are both simple 
and compound, the compound varieties perhaps about as 
many as the simple forms. The compound granules exist 
in twos, threes, occasionally in fours. The average diam- 
eter of the simple grains is about 18 microns; individual 



RADIX BELLADONNA. BELLADONNA ROOT. 



99 



grains average from 10 to 30 microns; the compound 
granules range from 20 to 40 microns in diameter. The 
hilum is usually centric, naturally somewhat eccentric in 




Fig. 15. — Cross-s 
S. T., Sieve 



CO* 

ection of Belladonna Root. 
tubes; B. F., bast fibres. 



the compound granules, and is simple or tristellate; the 
angles of the grain are usually rounded. 

There being several kinds of belladonna root in the 
market, certain variations from the types here described 



L.of 



IOO 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



may be encountered. These express, however, the aver- 
ages of a large number of examinations. 

The ducts of belladonna root are manifest ; few spirals 
are found, and a number of reticulated and pitted forms 
and varieties with bordered pores ; much range in diam- 




Fig. 16. — Belladonna. 
S.V., Spiral vessels; C.T., corky tissue; TR., tracheids; PAR., pa- 
renchyma; Pt. Duct, pitted duct; S., starch; P., fibres; R.D., reticu- 
lated duct. 

etcr of these ducts is to be observed. The average of 
several measurements gave: Spiral ducts, 18; reticulated 
duets, 25; pored ducts, 40 microns. 

The tracheids are typical and prominent; their average 
diameter is about 30 microns. They frequently are very 



RADIX GLYCYRRHIZA. LICORICE ROOT. IOI 

heavily pitted and pored. The wood fibres are few, and, as 
a rule, quite slender ; they average 13 microns in diameter. 

Parenchyma filled with starch grains is predominant. 
The cells vary widely in size ; they are usually oblong 
cylindrical, generally being from two to three times as 
long as broad, and in the main measuring 2 5 to 60 microns. 

Masses of corky tissues, dark and light-brown, are 
scattered copiously throughout the powder. On clearing 
the structure of the cells, the Avails become manifest. 
Some few tissues probably derived from the phloem may 
be encountered with the xantho-proteic test. These 
tissues give the characteristic proteid reaction for the 
cell contents. They may be recognized by their delicate 
walls and the character of their contents. 

Chemistry. — The active principle is atropine, which 
varies from 0.2 to 5 per cent., according to the age of the 
drug. Other less important ingredients are belladonnine, 
starch, a red coloring-matter, atrosin, and a substance 
similar to esculin. 

RADIX GLYCYRRHIZA. LICORICE ROOT. 

Glycyrrhiza is the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, L., and of 
the variety glandidifera (Waldstein et Kittaibel). Habi- 
tat : Southern Europe and Western Asia ; cultivated. 

Description. — In long, wrinkled pieces, from 5 to 25 
mm. thick, longitudinally wrinkled, externally grayish- 
brown, warty; internally yellow; pliable, tough, fracture 
coarsely fibrous, bark thick, wood dense, taste sweet, 
somewhat acrid. The underground stem, which is often 
present, has the same appearance, but contains a thin 
pith. The variety derived from G. glandidifera con- 
sists usually of roots or root-branches 1 to 4 cm. thick, 
15 to 30 cm. long, frequently deprived of the corky layer, 
the wood soft and usually more or less cleft. Resembling 
licorice are pyrethrum and taraxacum, but they are not 
sweet. 



102 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



Histology. — In the branches a periderm surrounds the 
thick, yellowish cortex. A cambium line separates this 
from the thin and angular medullary portion. The bark 
is radially striated by convoluted bast-fibres and wedge- 
shaped medullary rays, and the wood by similar woody 
and medullary rays. The main ' trunk has the same 
appearance, except that the medullary portion is missing. 

The periderm consists of flat cork-cells in layers, the 



Kr. 



-hp 




l— 



Fig. 17. — Longitudinal Section of Glycyrrhiza. 

g, Pitted and reticulated vessels, tracheids to left; Kr, crystal sac; b, 

bast fibres; hp, wood parenchyma. 



primary bark of few rows of starch-containing parenchyma 
cells. The inner bark is much broader and is made up of 
three- to- seven rowed medullary rays and wedge-shaped 
bast-fibres. The cells of the medullary rays are tangen- 
tially elongated, thin-walled, and filled with starch. 
The chief mass of the bast rays consists of parenchyma 
cells with rounded bundles of thickened bast-fibres. The 
separate bast-fibres have quite a considerable length, and 



RADIX GLYCYRRHIZ^E. LICORICE ROOT. 



103 



convoluted course, and in proper section show branchings. 
A broad cambium line connects the bark with the wood. 




Fig. 18. — Cross-section of Glycyrrhiza. 
b, Bast fibres, wood fibres; g, ducts; m, medullary rays; s, sieve 
tubes; hp, wood parenchyma; cr, crystals; c, cambium; St. starch; 
r, medullary ray in cortex (Tschirch) . 

The wood rays consist of three tissues. In a ground 
tissue of thin- walled, woody parenchyma there are wide 



104 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



or narrow vascular channels, single or in groups of two or 
four, with spirally thickened or pitted walls. Besides 



Radix Liqurritiae Rossica. 



W A 



Fig. 19. — Powdered Glycyrrhiza. 
P, Parenchyma; Ph, phelloderm; M, medullary rays; Sf, stone 
cells; K, crystal fibres; G'J, vessels; Sb, sieve tubes; IIC, keraten- 
chyma; Kr, crystals; St, starch (Koch). 



these there are rounded bundles of thick-walled wood 
fibres. 



RADIX IPECACUANHA. IPECAC. 105 

Powder. — A medium fine powder, No. 60, is brownish 
in color, and shows the following elements: Fibres, crys- 
tals, vessels, starch, cork cells, and woody parenchyma of 
medullary rays. The fibres are very numerous. Both 
bast fibres and wood fibres are accompanied by crystal 
small sacs, each containing a single crystal of calcium 
oxalate. A line of such crystals lying along a fibre is a 
very characteristic picture in licorice powder. The form 
of the starch grains, cork cells, and medullary ray cells 
is not of particular diagnostic significance. 

Chemistry. — Glycyrrhizin, glucose, mucilage, proteid, 
starch, tannin, asparagin, fat, resin, and a yellow pig- 
ment. 

RADIX IPECACUANHA. IPECAC. 

Ipecac is the root of Cephcelis Ipecacuanha, a native of 
Brazil, and extensively cultivated in India. Two vari- 
eties are common in the markets of the United States, 
the Rio Ipecac and the Carthagena. 

The plant grows in deep forests under the shade of trees. 
The roots are pulled along the ground backwards and then 
broken off, packed in bags after the dirt, which gives the 
color to the root, has been cleaned off, then sorted, 
rapidly dried in the sun and broken into short fragments. 

Description. — As the root appears in the market it 
is in pieces from one to two or three inches in length, 
twisted, slightly and irregularly contorted, 5 mm. in 
thickness, grayish to brownish-black, according to the 
character of the soil, distinctly annulated, annulas 1 to 1 \ 
mm. apart, wavy in places, longitudinally striated, when 
dry cracked, the cracks running through the cortex to 
the central cylinder. The fracture of the cortex is wavy to 
resinous, that of the central cylinder is short, sharp, and 
brittle. Odor slight, in the powder nauseous to irritating. 
The taste of the cortex is bitter, that of the wood less so. 

Histology. — Under the dissecting microscope or lupe 
the cross-section shows a thick cortical portion surrounded 



io6 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



by a thin brownish periderm with a yellowish central woody 
cylinder. The relative proportion of cortex to central 
cylinder is an index of the character of the root. Those 







Fig. 20. — Ipecac. 
Longitudinal section of Ipecac root: c, Cambium; K, crystals; rp, 
cortical parenchyma; hp, woody parenchyma; hf, wood fibres; m, 
medullary rays; tr, tracheids with border pores (Mocllcr). 



roots with thicker cortex are considered of better 
quality than those with thinner cortex, since the active 
principles are present almost exclusively in the cortex 



RADIX IPECACUANHA. IPECAC. 107 

and, moreover, stemmy ipecac or ipecac stems are made 
up of thick central cylinders and thin cortex. 

With greater magnification the periderm is seen to 
consist of from four to six rows of regularly arranged cork 
cells. Beneath this is the cortex, consisting externally of 
isodiametric polygonal, many-angled parenchyma tic cells 
usually filled with starch, and strongly pitted with simple 
pores. Here and there throughout the cortex are crystal 
sacs with larger and smaller bundles of acicular calcium 
oxalate crystals. The parenchymatic cells of the cortex 
become more irregular and smaller as the cambium is 
approached. The fibro-vascular bundles consist of a 
well-developed xylem and a feebly developed phloem, 
between which there is the delicate two- or three-layered 
cambium. The phloem consists almost exclusively of 
sieve tubes, many of which soon undergo occlusion. 
These run out into the cortex in thin, irregular, triangular 
wedges which vary markedly for each bundle. The xylem 
consists of elements which are difficult of exact definition. 
They are best termed tracheids, though many transitional 
forms are found. True vessels in the ordinary sense are 
missing, and when found in a powder indicate a certain 
admixture of stem. These tracheids are radially dis- 
posed, and are separated by bands of woody parenchyma, 
though distinct medullary rays are wanting (separating 
this from Gillenia, which also possesses vessels). The 
individual cells are considered in the powder. 

Powder. — The powder (No. 60) is light grayish-brown 
in color, and has the characteristic penetrating and 
irritant taste and odor of the drug. 

Microscopically, the following elements enter more or 
less conspicuously into the powder : Starch, crystals, cork, 
parenchyma, wood fibres, tracheids and vessels. 

The starch is the most characteristic feature of the 
powder, and is almost of diagnostic value alone. The 
grains are simple, and in twos, threes and occasionally in 



108 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

fours. The hilum is centric, the margins rounded. In 




Fir,. 21. — Sections of Ipecacuanha. 
i. Cross-section showing corky epidermis: P, Parenchyma, with 
starch; b, sieve tube groups; h, woody portions made up of tracheids. 
2. Parenchyma cut long. 3. Longitudinal section of tracheids (Vogl). 

many cases compound granules are observable; in these 
compound granules the size of the different granules 



RADIX IPECACUANHA. IPECAC. 109 

varies, a point which, according to Tschirch, is of im- 
portance. The average diameter of the starch grains is 
from 7 to 9 microns ; some of the larger granules may 
measure from 1 7 to 19 microns. Kraemer gives 4 to 7 . The 
smallest are usually about 2 microns. The starch of 
Carthagena ipecac is said to range on the average larger 
than that of Rio ipecac. Schneider's figures are from 
17 to 23 microns. 

The crystals are of the acicular variety, usually lying 
in special cells, but in the powder dislodged therefrom 
they range in length from about 20 to 100 microns, though 
this only represents an average. 

The cork cells are dark brown, and without clearing 
are usually indistinct in outline; in size the cells range 
from 9X15 to 15X25 microns. 

The parenchymatic cells of the cortex form a large part 
of the powder. The cells are usually ample, ranging 
from 60 to 100 microns. They are comparatively thin- 
walled, and are usually filled with starch grains. Some 
few special cells of the parenchymatic sheath contain 
the acicular crystals of calcium oxalate. 

The remaining elements of the powder present an 
interesting series of gradations in cell structure. In some 
works they are called tracheids, yet there would seem to 
be enough characters to differentiate wood-fibre like 
tracheids, true tracheids, and vessel-like tracheids. 
Schneider describes at least six kinds of tracheids.* 

The most characteristic cell forms are : ( 1 ) Vessel- 
like tracheids, having large openings, usually at the end 
of diagonal cross walls; these are usually the. largest tra- 
cheids, from 12 to 15 microns in diameter. (2) Tracheids 
with bordered pores ; usually smaller and having no end 
opening. (3) Ersatzfasern, or wood-fibre-like tracheids, 
with diagonal pores ; these elements are about 1 5 microns 
in diameter and about 300 microns long. 

* Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 4, 1897, p. 3. 



IIO PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

True vessels are not found in the root of ipecac, unless 
the vessel-like tracheids are included under that head; 
functionally they certainly are vessels and, morphologi- 
cally, approach them closely. If portions of the rhizome 
are included in the powder of the root, spiral vessels 
similar to those figured may be found, also typical stone- 
like parenchymatic cells, also figured. 

Adulterations and Substitutions. — Undulated Ipecac. — 
Richardsonia scabra has well-marked medullary rays 
and spiral vessels. Undulated and wrinkled transversely 
in the form of shallow constrictions, brownish-gray, 
bark white, mealy, not bitter. The wood is nearly as thick 
as bark. Microscopically, two round medullary ray rows, 
vessels, and wood fibres are sufficiently distinctive. 

White Ipecac. — From Ionidium Ipecacuanha. Violacece. 
Somewhat branched, contorted, not annulate, longi- 
tudinally wrinkled, whitish or pale brownish-yellow, 
root porous, free from starch, 2 mm. thick. 

In powder, stone cells are found. New cortex also 
contains sieve tubes. One-rowed medullary rays are also 
to be found and a few vessels. 

Striated Ipecac. — Psychotria emetica. Vogl calls it /. 
glycyphlaza. Longitudinally wrinkled, not annulate, 8 
microns thick, grayish-brown, sweet, no starch, no emetic. 
Cortex waxy, inner half of periderm made up of regular 
cells, tinged with dark violet. These have no starch, 
but there are numerous crystals of calcium oxalate. 

Chemistry. — The chief constituents are emetine, 1 to 2 
per cent. ; ipecacuanhic acid, an amorphous, bitter 
glycoside, tannin, volatile oil, starch, gum, etc. 

RADIX SENEGA. SENEGA. 

The root of Poly gala Senega, from the United States. 
Two varieties, Minnesota and Manitoba Senega, are 
generally recognized. 

Description. -The root is elongated, sharply triangu- 



RADIX RHEI. RHUBARB. Ill 

lar, 10 to 25 cm. long, nearly 0.5 cm. thick, with a 
swollen warty crown, produced by the remnants of 30 to 
40 stems, with reddish scaly leaves. A few tortuous, 
irregularly contorted branches are given off, generally at 
right angles. Just below the crown the root is zigzag 
in outline, twisted about a keel, and sometimes transversely 
wrinkled. The keel and wrinkles are more prominent 
in the dry condition. The color of the root is yellowish- 
gray to brownish-yellow, white within, the fracture sharp 
and short, the odor and taste acrid. 

Histology. — The cortex is light brown, surrounded by a 
dark periderm, the xylem cylinder white and crossed by 
narrow medullary rays. Further down, where the keel is 
well developed, the wood is defective and parenchyma is 
substituted for it in many places. 

Under the microscope the periderm consists of layers 
of cork tissue. The primary cortex is made up of thin- 
walled parenchyma cells, which fill out the woody portion 
where this is defective. Within the keel the inner cortex 
is well developed and made up of several rows of medul- 
lary rays and of bast-fibres. The wood is penetrated by 
more narrow medullary rays, which resemble those of the 
inner cortex. The xylem bundles contain wide vessels 
and the parenchyma cells of the primary and secondary 
cortex are filled with oil droplets and a pale yellow sub- 
stance which dissolves in potassium hydrate. 

Chemistry. — The chief ingredients are senegin, fatty 
and ethereal oil, volatile fatty acid, mucilage, tannin, 
sugar and pectin. 

RADIX RHEI. RHUBARB. 

Rhubarb is the root of Rumex officinale, an herbaceous 
perennial, growing indigenously in the eastern Asiatic 
countries. The best specimens are the so-called Chinese. 

Description. — In cylindrical or flattened segments de- 
prived of the brown corky layer, covered with a 



112 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



yellowish powder, smooth or slightly wrinkled, marked 
with white, elongated meshes, containing a spongy tissue 
and a number of short, reddish-brown strise; compact, 
hard, fracture uneven, internally white with numerous red, 




Fig. 22. — Rhubarb. 
Cross-section of root portion: c, Cambium surrounding a central 
phloem with medullary rays, m, and numerous crystals, obliterated 
sieve tubes and parenchymatic cells; g, vessels; ph, parenchyma in 
phloem. Starch is found in many of the cells. 



irregularly curved, and interrupted rays which are radially 
parellel only near the cambium line; odor aromatic, taste 
bitter and astringent. 

Histology. — When examined with the lupe, large 
or small remnants of the dark outer cortex are seen. 



RADIX RHEI. RHUBARB. II3 

If only part of the centre is removed, fine, white striae 
appear upon the surface,, which alternate regularly with 
yellowish-red lines. Where the cortex is removed en- 
tirely, the tortuous groups of vascular channels will form 
a rhombic network. If the woody ring is cut away, 
the medullary portion will come to view with a number of 
scattered, circularly arranged rays upon the surface. 
The granular fracture line shows a meshwork of reddish- 
brown lines and dark dots upon a white ground sub- 
stance; a regular arrangement is noticed only with the 
cylindrical, lateral branches. Here a yellowish-brown 
cambium line runs parallel and close to the outer circum- 
ference; tortuous medullary rays radiate through the 
parts external to this, to end in a light zone internal to the 
cambium. The medulla is colored irregularly red and 
brown and also shows still darker rays without any 
typical distribution. The whole surface is mottled. 

Under the microscope, the white ground-substance 
consists of thin-walled parenchymatous cells containing 
starch and calcium oxalate. Every mottling which 
reaches a diameter of i cm. is made up of ten to twenty 
narrow, dark-brown medullary rays, which run from a 
central point. The dark line which divides every mot- 
tling into two halves consists of cambium tissue. Internal 
to this cambium, small-celled parenchyma containing 
starch and calcium oxalate is found between the brown 
medullary rays; externally tracheids and ring-shaped 
vascular channels abound. The medullary rays con- 
sist of two or three layers of radially elongated cells which 
are filled with yellowish-brown masses. The red and 
white mottling of the medulla is due to the presence of 
these masses or starch. 

Powder. — This is reddish to yellow-brown, is gritty 
between the teeth, and when mixed with water or saliva 
it imparts to it an orange-red tinge. Microscopically the 
following elements are usual: Crystals, starch, peculiar 



ii4 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



needles of chrysophanic acid (?), parenchyma, vessels, 
and fibres. 

The crystals form the most conspicuous feature in the 
powder; they are large and numerous, sometimes con- 
stituting 30 per cent, of the whole ; they are of the rosette 
type and vary widely in size, measuring up to 100 microns. 
Some tabular octahedral forms are also observed. 




-Rhubarb in Powder. 
S, Starch; C, crystals; P, parenchyma; A, chrysophanic acid, 
crystals (?); Pt, parenchyma, twisted and contorted; V, pitted and 
reticular vessel fragments; Va, fragments of large vessels; F, fibres. 

The starch grains are for the most part simple, though 
compound grains are not rare. They are spherical to 
slightly angular and average about 20 to 30 microns. Their 
polarization cross is conspicuous; the arms are at right 
angles and attenuate in the centre. Peculiar acicular clus- 



RADIX GENTIANS. GENTIAN. 115 

ters, deeply stained, are met with in the powder; they 
are said to be chrysophanic acid. The parenchyma is 
abundant, very thin- walled, wide-meshed, and usually 
crowded with starch. Peculiar strings of flattened 
parenchymatic tissue are frequent. 

The vessel fragments are usually large and show the 
conspicuous reticular markings; sometimes annular and 
spiral vessels are observed. 

The fibres are few and present the characters of short 
wood fibres, with usually less thickened walls. 

Chemistry. — The official rhubarb contains chrysophan, 
emodin, and the three resinous bodies, aporetin, eryth- 
roretin, and phaeoretin; also rheo tannic acid, cathar- 
tinic acid, a bitter substance, a crystalline body allied to 
cantharidin, 1.5 per cent, oxalic acid, traces of a volatile 
oil, and 3.43 per cent. ash. 

RADIX GENTIANS. GENTIAN. 

The root of Gentiana lutea, L. (nat. ord. GentianecB), 
U. S. P. The official gentian is a stately yellow-flowered 
perennial herb, 2 to 4 feet high, growing in central and 
southern Europe. The drug is also obtained from 
several unofficial species, as G. purpurea, L., G. pan- 
nonica, Scopoli, and G. punctata, Linne. 

Description. — Gentian comes in pieces of about 10 
cm. in length and from 1 to 1.5 cm. in thickness, being the 
entire thickness of the smaller roots and longitudinal 
slices of the larger. It is sometimes cut obliquely in 
cross-sections. The heads of the official root are closely 
annulated, the others scarcely so. In drying it contracts 
one-third in thickness which causes its contorted ap- 
pearance and deep longitudinal and spiral wrinkles. 
The color is outwardly yellow or, from adherent earth, 
brownish. 

The fracture is after a slight bending sharp, showing 
a golden yellow interior. When cut, it shows a waxy 
lustre. 



n6 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



The odor is slight, tobacco-like, increased by moisten- 
ing. Taste very bitter. 

Histology. — Microscopically a cross-section of gentian 
root shows an epidermis of thin-walled cork cells, four to 




Fig. 24. — Gentian. 
Cross-section of cambial portion of root of Gentian, c, Cambium; 
5, sieve tubes; g, vessels with a few fibres, s, on the inside of cambium 
(Tsehirch). 

eight rows deep, enveloping a narrow zone of weak col- 
lenchyma merging into the layer of parenchyma, next 
within whose loosely arranged tissue are seen occasional 
sieve bundles but no bast fibres. The dark brown cam- 



RHIZOMES. 117 

bium layer is very distinct, three to five cells in width. 
Within it is the central cylinder, made up of radial rows 
of parenchyma with some larger, comparatively thick- 
walled, pitted reticulate, and spirally thickened ducts, 
single and in groups of two and three. The cells of the par- 
enchyma are filled with a yellow substance soluble in 
water. Occasionally an oil globule or a sac of calcium 
oxalate is seen, but neither starch nor tannin is present. 
In no portion of the root are either bast or wood fibres 
discernible. 

The Powder. — Owing to the absence of particularly 
characteristic tissue the powder is identified only with 
difficulty. The collenchymatic tissue lying within the 
cork is of some value, also the large spiral and reticulate 
ducts, and the regularity in both size and arrangement 
of the cells next within the cambium. The absence of 
bast fibres is of noteworthy importance. 

Chemistry. — The bitter principle is gentio-picrin, a 
glycoside, crystallizable in colorless needles. It is readily 
soluble in water and alcohol, split up by boiling with weak 
acids into a fermentable sugar and glutio-genin. The 
coloring-matter is gentisin (gentianin or gentisic acid) in 
yellow tasteless crystals of neutral reaction, scarcely 
soluble in water, more so in alcohol and ether, yielding a 
brown color with ferric salts. A sugar, gentianose, is 
found in the fresh root; it is fermentable but does not 
reduce Fehling's solution. Fat, oil, resin, mucilage, 
pectin, and 8 to 9 per cent, of ash are also present. 



RHIZOMES. 

Rhizomes are underground stems and are to be dis- 
tinguished from roots by the presence of leaves or leaf 
traces. Rhizomes may be horizontal, oblique, or vertical, 
and. can be distinguished by the situation of the leaf 
scars or traces of the roots. In horizontal rhizomes the 



Il8 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

leaf scars are situated like cups straight upon the upper 
side of the rhizome while the roots are found beneath. 
In an oblique rhizome the disposition is the same, save 
that the leaf scars, instead of being equal, are more or less 
tilted, one side being deeper than the other. In vertical 
rhizomes the scars are at the apex and the roots com- 
pletely encircle the rhizome. 

The microscopical structure varies. In pharmacog- 
nosy three types of rhizome are met with : the Vascular 
Cryptogams, the Monocotyledons, and the Dicotyledons. 

The rhizomes of the vascular cryptogams are each laws 
unto themselves, and as the pharmacist need study but 
one, the description will here be found under Aspidium. 

The rhizomes of monocotyledons are more uniform in 
their structure. In general they consist of an external 
parenchymatous layer, in which a few fibro- vascular 
bundles may be scattered, and an internal cylinder of 
parenchymatous tissue in which a number of fibro- 
vascular bundles are to be found. Separating the two 
is a layer (or layers) of specially modified cells, the pro- 
tective sheath or endodermis, the cells of which may be 
cubical, square, thickened, etc. In general the fibro- 
vascular bundles are more closely clustered near the en- 
dodermis sheath and are built up upon either the con- 
centric or the closed collateral type (no secondary bark 
as a rule). In general, rhizomes and roots of mono- 
cotyledons may show almost the same structure. This 
is rarely the case in dicotyledons. 

The rhizomes of dicotyledons are quite uniform in 
structure, closely resembling stem structure. In general 
they consist of a cortical portion in which secondary 
growth may have taken place to produce cork. The 
thickness of this cortex varies greatly, and it generally 
consists of parenchymatic cells; secondary structures 
may, however, be found therein, sclerotic cells, etc. 

From the central woody portion the cortex is divided 



ASPIDIUM. 119 

not by an endoderm but by the cambium which builds 
up fibro -vascular bundles of the open collateral type. 
Phloem is on the outside, xylem on the inside. (Rheum 
makes a curious exception to this general rule, for in it an 
anomalous growth is seen, the xylem growing outside the 
phloem.) 

The number of bundles varies considerably and also the 
elements that go to make up xylem and phloem. 

The centre of the stem is occupied by a pith made up in 
the main of suberized cells. 

ASPIDIUM. 

Aspidium (Male-fern) is the rhizome of Dryopteris 
Filix mas, Schott, and of Dryopteris marginalis, Asa Gray 
(nat. ord. Filices), U. S. 

The first-named plant, also known as Aspidium Filix - 
mas, Poly podium Filix mas, L., Polystichum Filix mas, 
Roth, Nephrodium Filix mas, Mich., Lastrea Filix mas, 
Presl. , grows plentifully in both forests and plains through- 
out the temperate portions of Europe and Asia. In 
North America it is rarer, growing in the mountains of the 
western part of the continent. 

The less reputed but probably as valuable Dryopteris 
marginalis is found in the eastern portion of the continent. 

For a non-tropical fern the plant is fairly large. The 
rhizome is thick and scaly. From it arise the fronds in a 
circular tuft; below, it sends down innumerable fibrous 
roots. It is collected in autumn and should not be used 
if more than a year old, or when it has lost its internal 
green color. 

The rhizome is collected when the reserve products are 
in abundance, this being about the latter part of the 
summer. D. marginalis is hardy in New England, 
remaining green a greater part of the winter ; thus it uses 
up, during the winter, much of the stored food products 
which are formed in the spring and midsummer. The 



120 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



dead stalks of former fronds and the chaffy remains of the 
year's growth should be rejected. 

Description. — The slightly oblique rhizome, as it appears 




Fig. 25. — Aspidium. 
Cross-section of Aspidium: dh, Glands, in parenchyma, P, which 
surrounds the concentric fibro-vascular bundle, with X, the vessel por- 
tion (xylem), made up of tracheids in the centre, surrounded by Ph, 
the sieve portion (phloem), the whole surrounded by the dark lined 
endodermis (Moeller). 

in the market, should be about 1 to 5 cm. in diameter, 
and from 10 to 25 cm. in length. It is completely covered 
with the ascending bases of the old stems, which usually 



ASPIDIUM. 12 1 

average 5 cm. in length, 0.5-1 cm. in diameter, slightly 
curved, shining dark-brown. These are closely inter- 
mingled with numerous light-brown chaffy scales and 
numerous delicate branched roots. Internally the rhi- 
zome is pale-green when fresh, yellowish and spongy 
when old. Fragments of the stipes are good when green 
only. The green character of the internal structure of 
both rhizome and stipes is essential. This is usually 
retained for from a half to two years after gathering, 
at the end of which time the drug is of no value, and, in 
fact, has suffered a gradual deterioration throughout the 
whole period. 

Histology. — A cross-section of the rhizome shows an 
angularly irregular outline; without is a layer, six to 
eight rows deep, of brownish-yellow thick- walled polyg- 
onal cells. In the light green thin-walled parenchyma tic 
ground tissue cells are numerous small, round or 
oval starch grains, single or in groups of two or three. 
Of frequent occurrence are round intercellular spaces into 
which project one or more round stalked glands contain- 
ing the dark green oleoresin. About midway between 
the centre and periphery of the section is a single circle 
of six to twelve (D. marginalis has five to seven) oval or 
reniform concentric fibro-vascular bundles arranged with 
the larger diameters at right angles to the radii. Each 
of these is surrounded by an endoderm of thickened cells, 
within which is the phloem tissue of the bundle and the 
central xylem. The xylem is composed mostly of large, 
angular, pitted, thick- walled tracheids, with here and 
there, single or in groups of two, narrow pitted and scalari- 
form ducts, imbedded in starch containing parenchyma. 
In the outer phloem portion of the bundle three zones of 
tissue may be distinguished. Within lie one or more 
rows of parenchyma enmeshing the wide, thin- walled 
sieve bundles. Surrounding these are several rows of 
narrow, thick- walled, longitudinally elongated paren- 



122 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



chyma. The whole is enclosed in the brown, corky, 
thick- walled endodermis. The sieve tubes are wider than 
the surrounding cells. Their cross walls are at right 
angles or only slightly inclined. They and the side walls 
show many pores closed by the coagulated protoplasmic 
substance in which are seen glistening spheres. Without 
this central circle of fTbro-vascular bundles are seen 
irregularly distributed smaller ones. These lead out- 




Fig. 26. — Powdered Aspidium. 

S, Starch; G, glands; Pr, pitted parenchyma; P, parenchyma; Cr, 

thickened cortical tissues; T, tracheids: O, phloem parenchyma. 



ward to the fronds and have their origin in the central 
bundles. 

Powder. — This varies greatly in color according to the 
age of the specimen, from greenish to yellowish, to yellow- 
ish-brown. In a powdered condition the color-changes 
take place more rapidly, even when the powder is kept 
in a glass-stoppered bottle. 



ASPIDIUM. I23 

The constituents of the powder, here describing both 
powders under the same heading, are starch, parenchy- 
matic tissue, thick- walled epidermal structures, vessels, 
glands, and fragments of roots and chaffy scales. If 
much stipe tissue is included in the powder, fibres may be 
found. 

The starch grains are suggestive. They are usually 
simple and exhibit a very great range both in size and 
shape. In shape they vary from minute spheres to 
flattened o voids, and in size from 2 or 3 microns to 4 to 6 
or 8 to 12 microns. These larger grains often show small 
apical irregularities, and are markedly flattened. The 
hilum is not manifest. With polarized light it is seen 
to be irregularly situated, sometimes centric, sometimes 
eccentric; stratification lines are few in the ordinary 
media used for observation, and with the polarizer, the 
cross observed in so many of the starch grains is only in- 
frequently seen. The parenchymatic cells are commonly 
packed with starch grains. They vary in the character 
of the cell wall, some thin, others thicker and pitted, with 
irregular outlines, somewhat cuboidal in shape, and they 
vary in diameter in the different parts of the same rhi- 
zome ; measurements gave the range from 50 to 80 microns. 

Thick-walled epidermal structures are appreciable in 
those powders which have been made from the rhizome 
and stipes, in their natural condition; powders made 
from peeled or prepared specimens lack this thick- walled 
tissue. These cells are somewhat elongated and flat- 
tened, with slightly wavy and thickened cell walls, not 
infrequently sharp-pointed. Their color is dark-brown 
to yellow, and when found they form a striking feature of 
the powder. Cells from the outermost layers of this 
cortical tissue have cell walls which are much thicker 
than those further in. 

The vessels of aspidium are extremely large, and as a 
rule, fragments only are found. These show the typical 



124 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

reticulated tracheid-like construction characteristic of 
many of the ferns. The tracheids are much of the same 
character, varying only in the complexity of their mark- 
ings and in their diameters. Some of the tissue of the 
phloem may be seen. This consists of elongated and very 
delicate thin-walled cells, which are much crushed and 
contorted in the powdering. Characteristic features of 
this rhizome are the glandular structures. These are 
found in the parenchymatic tissues, or, more frequently, 
broken into small fragments and free ; when perfect they 
consist of small dark-brown sacs, filled with resin, and 
averaging 25 to 40 microns in diameter; a minute stalk 
may sometimes be noted. If the rhizome is particularly 
old and much stipe tissue included in the powder, typical 
bast fibres may be found. 

Chemistry. — Male-fern contains the crystallizable or 
amorphous filicic acid whose reputation as the sole active 
constituent is disputed. It is, at least in the crystalline 
state, odorless, tasteless, insoluble in water except with an 
alkali, but quite soluble in absolute alcohol and ether. 
Other constituents are filicic tannic acid (10 per cent.), 
fixed and volatile oil, resin, sugar, and starch. 

CALAMUS. 

The rhizome of Acorns Calamus, Linne (nat. ord. 
A roidecE) . 

Habitat. — Europe and North America, in wet meadows 
and on the banks of streams and ponds. 

Description. — In sections of various lengths, unpeeled, 
about 2 cm. broad, subcylindrical, longitudinally wrin- 
kled ; on the upper surface marked with leaf-scars forming 
triangles, but on the lower surface with the circular scars 
of the rootlets in wavy lines; externally reddish-brown, 
somewhat annulate from remnants of leaf-sheaths; 
internally whitish, of a spongy texture, breaking with a 
short, corky fracture, showing numerous oil-cells and 



CALAMUS. 



125 



scattered wood-bundles, the latter crowded within the 
subcircular endoderm. It has an aromatic odor, and a 
strongly bitter taste. 

Histology. — The cross-section reveals an outer zone, 
about 1 to 3 mm., covered on the outside with 
a thin epidermis, and enclosing an inner cylinder con- 
taining numerous vascular bundles. The underlying 
tissue resembles collenchyma, which on the inner part 




Fig. 27. — Calamus Rhizome. 
Cross-section: s, Starch -filled parenchymatic cells 
spaces; o, oil cells; gfb, fibro-vascular bundle 



i, intercellular 
k, cambium. 



gives way entirely to loose-meshed parenchyma, which 
encloses large cellular spaces. The inner parts of the 
exoderm, and of the central tissue, consist simply of one- 
layered cell sheets which separate the long cell spaces 
which extend in the direction of the axis. Together with 
each string or sheet of cells, there is a nearly spherical oil 
cell. The adjoining parenchyma is filled with granules 
of starch, which is mixed with, or accompanied by tannic 



126 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

acid. There are also cells filled with ethereal oil in the 
exoderm. The endoderm is composed of cells which are 
not very prominent, and extend only a short distance 
longitudinally. Deep within the endoderm the vascular 
bundles are more numerous ; they resemble in their course 
the palm-type of cells, since they penetrate the tissue like 
leaf -vessel bundles and join with the central bundle. 
The bundles are concentric and carry the sieve tubes in the 
inside. In the outermost zone, the collenchymatic zone, 
there are single short sclerenchymatic fibre bundles. 

Chemistry. — Kurbatow has isolated a sesquiterpene 
(C 15 H 24 ) which boiled at 255 . Fliickiger, on the con- 
trary, isolated an oil of the apparent formula C 10 H 16 O, 
which boiled at 255 . The crude calamus oil has a some- 
what dark-brown color. Such a discoloration may 
be due to the mixture of a blue oil. Calamus oil 
furnishes a small amount of such a blue constituent, 
after the distillation of the principal part of the mixture 
at 270 to 290 . In addition, it appears to contain a 
phenol, since the portion which has the highest boiling- 
point is colored greenish-brown by alcoholic ferric 
chloride. 

Acornin, C 39 H 60 O 6 , is a very bitter, soft glycoside. 
It was prepared by Thorns by heating the calamus 
root with water, evaporating the solution after the ad- 
dition of animal charcoal, and exhausting the residue with 
boiling alcohol. The product was less than 2 per mille. 
It is neutral, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, 
chloroform, and ether. Other constituents of calamus 
arc resin, starch, mucilage, calamine, and choline; the 
latter forms in decomposition, trimethylamin and methyl- 
alcohol. 

PODOPHYLLUM. 

Podophyllum is the rhizome and roots of Podophyllum 
peltatttm, L., a plant found abundantly in certain locali- 
ties of the United States. It is very common in north- 



PODOPHYLLUM. I 27 

western New York and its cultivation could be developed 
to an industry. The plant is well known and is character- 
istic by reason of its leaves and striking white blossom in 
spring, and later in the year by its fruit. This, when ripe, 
is pleasantly acid and is devoid of purgative properties. 

Description. — The rhizome of the market is composed of 
pieces from 4 to 12 cm. in length and about 0.5 to 1 cm. 
in width. It has flattened joints at intervals of from 4 
to 6 cm. which bear on their upper surfaces the cup-like 
scars of the single stems, and from their lower surfaces a 
number of delicate roots. Between the scars the rhizome 
is cylindrical and smooth, sometimes slightly wrinkled in 
drying, and light brown in color. It has a sharp frac- 
ture, is hard and short, to waxy. The odor is very slight ; 
sweetish taste, later mucilaginous and acrid. In drying, 
the root contracts but little, and the fresh specimens 
closely resemble the market varieties, varying only in the 
lighter color and the fuller firm character. Stems rarely 
enter into commerce, though stem elements have been 
detected by the writer in some powders. This should be 
considered as a very rare adulteration. 

Histology. — Under a low power, a cross-section of the 
fresh root, between the nodes, shows on the outside a 
brown epidermis encircling a whitish to grayish-white 
cortical layer ; within this there is an irregular circle of 
separated oval fibro-vascular bundles, varying in number 
from eighteen to thirty. Within them there is the central 
cylinder of parenchymatic tissue, the pith, connected 
with the parenchyma of the cortical cylinder, between the 
bundles by parenchymatic strings. 

With a high power the epidermis is seen to consist of 
one or two layers of cutinized cells. In old specimens 
and in the region of the nodes this layer is more dis- 
tinctly corky and is frequently four or five layers thick. 
The average size of these cork cells is 0.022 X0.045 microns. 
The cortical layer averages about twenty layers of 



128 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 




Fig. 28. — Podophyllum Rhizome. 
Upper figure, section of cortex; lower, of fibro-vascular bundle: 
Ck, Corky layer; Cort, cortical parenchyma, with starch grains and 
crystals, represented in single instances only; BF, bast fibres; ST, 
sieve tubes; C, cambium; T, tracheid; WP, woody parenchyma cells; 
V, vessels: SV, spiral vessel; WF, wood fibres; Par, parenchyma of 
center (pith). 



PODOPHYLLUM. 129 

parenchymatic cells down to the circle of fibro-vascular 
bundles. The cells bordering on the epidermis are slightly 
collenchymatic and average about 45 microns in diam- 
eter. A great degree of polymorphism exists in these par- 
enchymatic cells of the cortex. They vary greatly in size 
and shape, yet in general conform to the oblong cylin- 
drical type. The cells of the middle of this layer are on 
the average larger than those on either side, measuring 
about 100 microns on cross-section and 140 microns in 
length. Most of them are filled with starch grains, and in 
the regions of the nodes large rosette-shaped crystals are 
frequent. The regions between the nodes are poorer in 
such crystals in the fresh specimens. The circle of fibro- 
vascular elements is quite irregular. The bundles vary 
in completeness in a given cross-section, and also in differ- 
ent parts of the rhizome. As a rule, they become larger 
and more fully developed as the nodes are reached. 
The bundles are distinctly separated and are typical. The 
xylem consists of ducts, tracheids, woody parenchyma, 
and a few wood fibres. The ducts vary from five to ten 
in number, and are of the reticulated and pitted varieties. 
A few spiral vessels are to be found in the inner angle of 
the bundle. Tracheids are few and present no. note- 
worthy features. Woody parenchyma is not abundant, 
and many of the bundles have no wood fibres, save in 
the region of the nodes, where they become very marked 
and characteristic. The cambium is irregular and deli- 
cate, and is rarely found reaching across the interfascicu- 
lar space to join the cambium of the adjoining bundle; 
thus there is no well-marked cambium ring either in the 
root or in the stem. The phloem contains sieve tubes, 
accompanying cells, a few cambiform cells, and a few 
bast-fibres. There is nothing peculiar in any of the 
phloem elements, though many of the sieve tubes become 
occluded to form keratenchyma. The sieve plates are 
in many cases horizontal. The parenchyma of the 
9 



i3° 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



centre resembles that of the outside. The cells are filled 
with starch and are pitted, and contain few crystals. 

The structure of the stem, or practically the leaf stem, 
is interesting in that the arrangement of the bundles is 
very irregular and the bundle is of the closed collateral 




Fig. 29. — Podophyllum in Powder. 
Starch; Cryst, crystals of calcium oxalate; Ck, corky tissue, side 
view; PD, duct with bordered pores; RV, PV, reticulated and pitted 
ducts; Tr, tracheids; SV, spiral vessel ; WF, wood fibres or bast fibres; 
Par, parenchyma, in longitudinal view; P, parenchyma in cross-sec- 
tion. 

type, so characteristic of the monocotyledons, though 
not unknown for dicotyledons, as, for instance, in the 
stems of Ranunculus. 

Powder. — The most characteristic and conspicuous fea- 
tures of the powder are starch grains, crystals, vessels, 
parenchyma, and fibres. Less conspicuous tissues found 



ZINGIBER. GINGER. 131 

are sieve tubes, cork cells, tracheids, and wood paren- 
chyma. 

The starch is fairly typical. In the fresh condition it 
is seen to consist of compound grains made up of from 
five to twenty granules. In dry specimens of the market, 
the grain is found to be broken up, and is apparently 
much simpler in structure. The average diameter of the 
grains is from 8 to 14 microns. The larger granules 
measure from 4 to 6 microns. The hilum is inconspicu- 
ous and concentric markings are few. 

The crystals are not very numerous, yet are large, well- 
marked rosettes. They average from 40 to 80 microns, in 
several specimens examined. 

Reticulated and pitted vessels are the most character- 
istic in the powder. Fragments measure about 40 to 100 
microns. The parenchyma, starch-filled, is thick- walled 
and pitted, and the cells average from 40 to 100 microns. 
The fibres in old dried specimens colored yellow are not as 
frequent and typical ; tracheids average about 2 5 microns 
across. Here and there in a field in the powder of the dry 
drug, masses of resin-like material may be encountered. 

Chemistry. — Water will precipitate a resinous body 
called podophyllin from the alcoholic extract. This 
podophyllin contains fatty oil, extractives, a yellow 
pigment called podophylloquercetin, an acid, podophil- 
linic acid, and picro-podophyllin and podophyllo toxin, 
which latter can be split up into the former and picro- 
podophyllinic acid. 

ZINGIBER. GINGER. 

The rhizome of Zingiber officinale, Resave. The year- 
old roots are those in commercial use. Ginger is cul- 
tivated in the West Indies and in the tropics generally. 

Description. — Practically the cultivated rhizome alone 
comes into the market at present. It is a large nattish- 
branched rhizome, about 7 cm. long and 2 cm. thick. 



132 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

The branches are more or less finger-shaped, flattened, 
and generally collected along one side. 

The odor is pungent, the fracture short, sharp, and 
uneven, showing yellowish to grayish-yellow interior 
(yellowish fibro-vascular bundles on fracture). There 
is considerable variation in the external appearance, 
different packers in different countries shipping it in 
their own peculiar fashion. 

The main types that come into our markets are: 
Jamaican, coated and uncoated, only the latter recog- 
nized by Pharmacopoeia ; African ; East Indian ; Chinese. 

The Jamaica ginger is usually selected more carefully 
than the other types. It is first peeled and scraped and 
then dried rapidly in the sun. This gives it a whitish 
appearance which is a mark of good quality. The rhi- 
zome is generally more slender than in other types of 
ginger and rounder; the lobes are more pointed. 

East India ginger is generally peeled on the broad face 
only. Sometimes it is peeled, and then as it dries, if of a 
darker color than the Jamaica, it is dipped so as to simu- 
late it, or is bleached with chlorinated lime, calcium 
sulphate, sulphur, or chloroform. 

African and Chinese ginger are both generally coated. 
Sometimes they are half peeled. The Chinese ginger has 
short and stumpy stems. 

Histology. — Examined under the low power a cross- 
section shows, if unpeeled, an external layer of brown, 
corky epidermal cells, within which is found a small 
grayish parenchymatic cortex, separated by means 
of an endodermis from a central cylinder of parenchy- 
matic tissue more or less filled with fibro-vascular bundles 
and secretory organs. The cortex also contains a number 
of fibro-vascular bundles. The parenchymatic tissues are 
filled with starch. A yellowish color of the parenchyma 
is considered a sign of good quality. The fibro-vascular 
bundles appear as dark brown points in the field. Under 



ZINGIBER. GINGER. 



*33 



the high power the epidermis shows several layers of 
corky tissue. Just beneath the cork layer the paren- 




Fig. 30. — Ginger. 

Cross-section ginger rhizome: cp, Epidermis; end, endodermis; 
fv.b, nbro-vascular bundles; seer, oleoresin cells; scl.f, wood fibres 
(Greenish) . 

chyma is free from starch and rich in secretory reservoirs. 
The parenchyma tic cells of the cortex are polyhedral, 
isodiametric, and thin- walled, and are separated by 



134 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

small intercellular spaces and numerous clearly marked 
starch grains with eccentric hilums. The cortex con- 
tains a number of secretory reservoirs which are about 
the shape and size of the parenchyma cells, or slightly 
larger; the cell walls of these are suberized and they 
contain yellowish ethereal oil, which at times becomes 
resinous. Numerous small calcium oxalate crystals 
are present. 

The fTbro-vascular bundles of the cortex are rudi- 
mentary or built on the same plan as those inside the 
endodermis. The endodermis is composed of one to 
three layers of much contorted, slightly elongated cells 
whose walls are comparatively thick, compressed, and 
somewhat suberized. Some annular reticulate*d vessels 
are often found close to the endodermal sheath. 

The central portion consists mainly of parenchymatic 
tissue similar to that in the cortex. The fibro -vascular 
bundles are of the closed collateral type. The xylem 
consists of from three to eight tracheids and a few spiral 
vessels or spiral-like tracheids.* These are surrounded 
in part by a varying number of sclerenchymatic elements 
with pores with cross partitions which are slightly lig- 
nified. These elements are more numerous on the tracheal 
side of the bundle. At times they surround the bundle 
completely. Secretory cells are sometimes found in this 
portion of the rhizome. The phloem is made up of 
parenchyma and a few sieve tubes with oblique walls, 
surrounded by parenchyma cells. 

The starch of ginger is of diagnostic importance. In 
the powder the presence of much corky tissue is indica- 
tive of the fact that the outer rind has not been removed. 

Adulterations of powder are not rare. 

Chemistry. — Two to six per cent, ethereal oil, Ter- 
penc, Acid, three to five per cent. ash. 

* A. Mayer: Arch. d. Ph., 1881, S. 422. 



CURCUMA. TURMERIC. 135 

CURCUMA. TURMERIC. 

The rhizome of Curcuma longa, L. (Curcuma ro- 
tunda, L., Amomum, Jacq.). Nat. Ord. ScitaminecB. 

This is a perennial plant with long sheathing radical 
leaves. A native of India, it is cultivated throughout 
that country, southern and eastern China, and the islands 
of the East Indies. It grows also in Africa and Brazil. 
The main portion of the rhizome from which the leaves 
emanate constitutes round turmeric; its cylindrical or 
fusiform rhizome branches form the long turmeric of 
commerce. 

The rhizome sends out long, tough, very fine root 
fibres, which sometimes develop at some distance from 
their source into oval tubers, which consist, when young, 
almost entirely of pure white starch, but when older 
develop the yellow coloring-matter characterizing the 
rhizome. 

Description. — The rhizome appears in the market in the 
two forms characterized. The round turmeric comes in 
round or pear-shaped masses, hard and dense, exteriorly 
gray to light yellow, internally reddish-yellow. The 
diameter is from i to as much as 30 cm. (Fliickiger). 
The large rhizomes are cut transversely and all are 
scalded to facilitate drying. The upper portion shows 
numerous stem scars arranged in concentric circles; 
below are the large irregular scars of the rhizome branches, 
and here and there a fine tough root fibre. The surface 
between the markings is nearly smooth above, irregularly 
wrinkled below. Long turmeric comes in tapering 
cylindrical pieces, sometimes branched like ginger, but 
usually simple, with large orange-colored scars. It is 
indistinctly ringed, rough with deep irregular wrinkles. 
The fracture is sharp, shining, and resinous, the odor 
slightly aromatic, the taste pleasantly aromatic and 
somewhat pungent. The varieties are: the Chinese, 



136 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



which is not common; Madras, which comes in rather 
large central rhizomes with golden yellow branches; 
Bengal, which in spite of its dull gray surfaces contains 
the most color ; Cochin, which comes in sections or slices 
of a rather large rhizome; and Java, in small pieces of 
little esteem. 

Histology. — The bark, about one-sixth the thickness of 




Fig. 31. — Curcuma. 
Cross-section cortical portion of turmeric rhizome: k, Cork; p, 
parenchyma with swollen starch masses; oe, oil cells; g, portion of 
vessel bundle (Moeller). 



the wood, bounded by an epidermis of thin-walled 
polygonal or round corky cells, consists of two layers, 
the outer of irregular pitted parenchyma with somewhat 
thickened corners without definite arrangement, the 
inner of regular rectangular cells in radiating rows 
developed from phellogen. On the surface are numerous 



CURCUMA. TURMERIC. 137 

thick- walled, mostly single-celled, blunt-pointed tri- 
chomes, and here and there stomata. Oil cells are of 
occasional occurrence. More numerous are the elon- 
gated resin cells. The larger portion of the parenchyma 
is well filled with starch, which by the scalding swells up 
to form pasty masses which retain the form of the en- 
closing cell even in the powder. The grains in their 
natural form are small, 15 to 30 microns long, oval, tri- 
angular, or three-sided, sometimes long and thin or disc- 
shaped. The concentric rings are visible but indistinct. 
The hilum is at the smaller end. Here and there through- 
out the bark are isolated irregular fibro-vascular bundles, 
the numerous small angular sieve tubes surrounding the 
rather large-celled vessel portion. Occasionally in the 
parenchyma are found very small angular crystals of 
calcium oxalate. 

A distinct endoderm of tangentially elongated cells 
separates the cortical from the inner portion of the 
rhizome. The structure within is in general similar to 
that of the outer portion. The fibro-vascular bundles, 
however, are much more numerous, especially near the 
endoderm, where they merge into one another. They are 
usually concentric, as in the cortical tissue, but here and 
there an isolated bundle shows a rudimentary bicollateral 
structure. The vessels show markings between spiral 
and net-formed. The sieve tubes are weak with distinct 
sieve plates. The parenchyma is filled with starch. 
Resin cells are frequent, oil cells less so. 

Powder.— The curcuma in powder is easily recognized 
by its characteristic color, odor, and taste. It tinges 
the saliva yellow. The united masses of starch grains 
retaining the shape of their enclosing cells make up 
the greater portion. Isolated grains, uninjured by heat, 
are also met with. The tissue elements, cork, paren- 
chyma, and ducts, are of no diagnostic value. The 
absence of bast fibres is noteworthy. 



138 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Chemistry. — A yellow volatile oil 1 per cent., a 
thick oil, turmerol, boiling-point 285 to 290 C, of an 
aromatic odor, and another less viscid body, the yellow 
coloring-matter curcumin, crystallizing in shining blue 
crystals, yellow by transmitted light, form the principal 
constituents. Fat and starch in some quantity, gum 
and resin are also present. 



TUBERS— BULBS. 
SQUILL. 

The bulb of Urginea maritima deprived of its dry 
membranaceous outer portion and cut into thin slices, 
the central portions being rejected, of the natural order 
LiliacecB, a native of the Mediterranean basin, growing in 
the neighborhood of the sea-coast. Two varieties are 
known, the white and the red, the former of which is 
preferred. The bulbs should be collected in summer or 
autumn, after blossoming but before the leaves have 
commenced to develop. 

The chief microscopical elements of the powder are 
crystals, parenchymatic tissue, epidermal cells with few 
stomata, and spiral vessels. Starch is absent, though at 
certain times the vessels contain a few small starch grains. 

The crystals of calcium oxalate are very prominent; 
they are of the acicular type, and vary greatly in size; 
some are extremely fine, others large or coarse, at least 
one millimetre in length. They appear round but are 
somewhat quadrate, belonging to the quadratic octa- 
hedral system. These crystals are usually found in all 
sorts of fragments; they are rarely found in the sac-like 
parenchymatic cells in which they are formed. They 
constitute from 3 to 4 per cent, of the drug. 

The parenchyma is elongated polyhedral and thin- 
walled, and much contorted, many of the cells contain- 
ing, in the powder, irregular clumps of mucilaginous 



COLCHICUM. 



139 



material. A few elongated stomata are sometimes seen 
in the outer thicker-walled fragments of epidermis. 

The vessels are usually lax, and of the spiral type; 
fragments of broken spirals are common in the powder. 




Fig. 32. — Squill in Powder. 
Epi, Epidermal cells with stomata, below; above, cross-view 
showing crystal sac; C, crystals in various stages ; SpV, spiral vessels ; 
M, mucilage cell. 

COLCHICUM. 

Colchicum is the corm and seed of Colckicum autum- 
nale, L., natural order LiliacecE, a native of central and 
southern Europe, England, and North Africa. The 
corm is most active after one year and should be gathered 
from June to August of the second year, after the seeds 
are ripe. 



140 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



The color of the powder is whitish ; with age it becomes 
grayish to brownish white. The taste is acrid. The 
powder, under the microscope, shows the following gen- 
eral elements : Starch, ducts, and parenchyma; the starch 
predominating. 

The starch is abundant; the grains are large and 
characteristic. They are mainly compound, in groups of 




© V& 



w ©c 



Fig. 33. — Powdered Colchicum. 

S, Starch grains, simple and compound; P, Pr, parenchyma; AV, SV, 

annular and spiral vessels; Ph, tissues from the phloem. 

two, three, or four, with central hilums, which are triangu- 
larly or quadrangular ly lacerate, or sometimes distinctly 
many-rayed. The concentric markings are not promi- 
nent. The polariscopic cross is usually rectangular, 
swollen in the middle, and attenuate at the periphery. 
The grains range from 5 to 22 microns in diameter. 

The ducts arc not numerous; they are usually spiral 
or annular, sometimes pitted. 



ACONITE. 141 

The parenchyma is usually thin- walled, inclined to be 
regular, and filled with starch grains ; the parenchymatic 
meshes range from 60 to 100 microns. 

ACONITE. 

Aconite is the tuber of Aconitum napellus, L., natural 
order Ranunculacece , and grows pretty widely over the 
northern hemisphere. It is extensively cultivated in 
Germany, France, England, Switzerland, and India. 
The tuber should be gathered in winter or early spring 
— in some climates October seems the best month for 
collection — from plants over one year of age. 

Powder. — The powder in bulk is brownish-gray and 
has the peculiar taste, followed by tingling, characteristic 
of the drug. Microscopically the following constituents 
are recognizable in powder No. 60 : Starch, parenchy- 
matic tissue, cork cells, stone cells, endoderm cells, ducts, 
tracheids — sometimes a few wood fibres and also a few 
epidermal hairs. 

The starch is made up of grains which are mainly 
compound, growing in twos or threes, though often in 
groups of four, occasionally in groups of eight. The 
hilum is usually centric, mostly simple, sometimes 
fissured ; concentric markings may be made out in some 
of the numerous single grains. By polarized light the 
cross is broad and distinct, its arms at right angles. The 
average diameter of the single grains varies from 5 to 15, 
the compound grains from 10 to 20 microns. The starches 
of the other species of aconite are in the main similar; 
that of A. ferox examined showed fewer compound 
clusters, and the polarization cross was less distinct. 
A. Japonicum had uniformly larger grains, the single 
grains being often twice the size of A. napellus, and the 
concentric markings much more distinct. The polari- 
zation cross was indistinct in specimens examined. 

Stone cells are among the most characteristic features 



142 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



of the powder of aconite. They are elongated, varying 
from two to four times as long as broad ; the walls are 
markedly thickened and the pores are simple and deep; 




Fig. 34. — Aconite. 
Cross-section of tuber of Aconiium napellus: p, Parenchyma; e, 
endodermis ; sr, cortex; c, cambium, stone cells at periphery, vessels 
within the cambium (Tschirch). 



they are usually colored brownish. The general size 
is from 20 to 60 microns. 

There is little characteristic of the parenchyma; it 
varies greatly in size in the different parts of the tuber, 



ACONITE. 



143 



hence a uniform size in the powder is not to be expected. 
The cells are mainly rounded, and the walls are some- 
what thickened and collenchymatic, especially near the 
epidermis ; the parenchyma inside of the endoderm is 




Fig. 35. — Powdered Aconite. 
T, Tracheid; V, pitted vessel; S, starch; ST, Sto, stone cells; H, 
hairs; P, Par, parenchyma; EN, endodermis; WP, wood parenchyma; 
Sp V, spiral vessel; E, epidermis. 

richly pored. The cells of the epidermis are usually 
light-brown in color, thin- walled, and are not character- 
istic. Occasionally a few epidermal hairs are seen. 
These come from the lower part of the tuber or from the 



144 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



minute side rootlets. The vessels vary widely, may be 
thick- walled, and the fragments usually show traces of the 
pores, which are slightly bordered. Sometimes spiral 

vessels are found. Small 
fragments of woody paren- 
chyma containing starch 
grains are also met with. 

JALAP. 

Jalap is the tuberous 
root of Ipomcea Jalapa, sl 
native of damp shady 
woods of eastern Mexico 
and the surrounding pro- 
vinces. It is now also in 
cultivation in Jamaica 
and in the Nilgherry 
mountains of India. Jalap 
is gathered at all times of 
the year, hence there is a 
great variation in its con- 
stituents, especially the 
starch, some specimens 
being very rich in this 
ingredient and on account 
of this generally less valu- 
able. These specimens 
break with a mealy frac- 
ture. Others contain very 
little starch, have a tough 
fracture, and are dark- 
brown and shiny on the 
broken surface. As a 
rule, such are to be pre- 
ferred. The powder is dark-brown. 

The more prominent microscopical constituents are 




Fig. 36. — Jalap. 
Cross-section through the outer 
portion of jalap tuber: k, Cork; m, 
milk tubes; c, cambium; h, vessel 
portion (Tschirch). 



JALAP. 



145 



starch, ducts, crystals, tracheids, resin masses, and 
parenchyma. 

The starch grains of jalap are large ; simple and com- 
pound forms abound. The larger simple grains are gen- 




Fig. 37. — Jalap in Powder. 
S, Starch; C, crystals; R, resin globules; Co, corky tissue; Pr, 
parenchyma; T, tracheid; V, vessels with slit-shaped and border 
pores. 



erally dense, rounded or broadly oval, sometimes ovate, 
with an eccentric, generally simple, hilum and pronounced 
concentric markings. Their polarization cross is irregu- 
lar. The, smaller simple grains and the compound grains, 
which latter are in twos or threes, rarely more, have 



146 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

central and usually lacerate hilums. The grains range 
from 10 to 35 microns in size. In the artificial heat of 
drying many of the starch grains are apt to be altered, 
especially those near the epidermis of the tuber. The 
resin masses are prominent, they are usually spherical, 
light to dark-brown, and minutely irregular or with 
larger drops of oil. The crystals vary; they are of the 
spheroidal, spiny type and average from 20 to 40 microns. 
The parenchyma is very abundant; it is lax, thin- 
walled, and usually non-pored. The tracheids are few, 
and have simple slit-like markings. The vessels are few 
but large, the fragments sometimes showing the markedly 
regular border pores. The cells of the epidermis are 
generally elongated, hexagonal in shape, and are dark- 
brown to black. 

WOODS. 

The woody tissues form, as a rule, the greater part of 
the mechanical tissues of the plant, and in some plants by 
far the greatest amount of material in the stem is made up 
of woody fibres. 

There are but few official woods, as we know from the 
physiology of the plant that the woody fibres serve mainly 
to support and conduct air and water only; in the bark 
the more active life processes of the plant are constantly 
taking place, and hence more active chemical compounds 
are found in the bark. This lack of active chemical 
compounds accounts for the few official woods. 

Starch and sugar are sometimes found lying free in 
the woods, but rarely nitrogenous substances nor alka- 
loids. Heart woods frequently contain tannin and 
resin, coloring-matter forming part of cells or the cell 
walls. 

The proper contents of the woods are reserve-stuff 
materials, aromatic bodies, ethereal oils (Juniper, Sassa- 
fras), resin (Guaiac) * tannin and coloring-matters (Haema- 



WOODS. 147 

toxylon and Santalum), bitter products (Quassia) — ■ 
in general, products of destructive metabolism. 

Although from the medical standpoint the woods are of 
small interest, they are of more importance to the phar- 
macognocist, for they are frequently used to adulter- 
ate ground drugs, and they form, though in small quan- 
tities, an important part of the stems and roots of official 
drugs. 

In the narrow sense of the word the " woods" include 
the xylem elements of the dicotyledonous stem; the 
phloem elements of the bundle generally adhere to the 
bark. 

These elements, it may be recalled, are: 

(1) Ducts or vessels. 

(2) Tracheids. 

(3) Woody fibres (libriform). 

(4) Parenchyma. 

(a) Wood parenchyma. 

(b) Simple parenchyma. 

(1) The ducts or vessels are characteristic of woody - 
tissues. They are usually lignifiedr have thick walls, 
and the end cell membranes have become absorbed. 
The walls are provided with variously shaped and sized 
pores and may be sculptured in a variety of ways, giving 
rise to the various types of vessels. 

(a) Spiral. — Cell wall thickening spiral. 

(b) Annular.— Cell wall thickening annular or ring-like. 

(c) Reticulated. — Cell wall thickening net-form. 

(d) Pitted. — Pits or pores which may be simple or 
bordered. Various transitional forms are to be encoun- 
tered and they all spring from the cambium. 

(2) The tracheids are to be distinguished from the ducts 
by the presence of cross walls that have not been ab- 
sorbed. In other respects they resemble the ducts quite 
closely. 

The wood of the Conifers is distinguished by having 



148 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

nothing but tracheitis. The woody cylinder in the root 
of Ipecac consists entirely of tracheitis. 

(3) The librijorm or wood fibres make the largest mass 
of the wood. They are generally packed about the 
vessels, supporting them. They are elongated elements 
with rounded or sharpened ends, thickened lignified 
walls, and provided with left oblique, slit pores, in all 
respects similar to the bast fibres, from which they can be 
distinguished with difficulty. 

(4) The parenchyma may be of two kinds : (a) Woody ; 
(b) simple. 

(a) Woody parenchyma is, as a rule, found in small 
quantities in the wood, immediately surrounding the 
vessels or arranged in radial rows between the vessels. 

Parenchyma may be difficult to distinguish from 
libriform in long section. Shortness is diagnostic. The 
simple pores are also diagnostic. Medullary ray cells 
closely resemble woody parenchyma in cross-section in 
many woods. 

(b) Simple parenchyma may be irregularly scattered in 
small amounts among the various elements of the wood. 
Its thin-walled isodiametric cells with simple pores are 
sufficiently distinctive. Rarely does the simple paren- 
chyma become sclerotic. 

Transition forms among the elements are to be ex- 
pected, and to these much of the difficulty in determina- 
tion of powders is due. 

Excretory reservoirs (oils, mucilage, tannin) are rare 
in the official woods (Sassafras). 

Crystals are sometimes found in the woody paren- 
chyma of the medullary rays and sometimes in the simple 
parenchyma. 

Secretory reservoirs, both schizogenous and lysigenous, 
are met with. In Pinus, Eucalyptus, etc., the oil, 
resins, and balsams are contained in schizogenous reser- 
voirs, as also in the root of Arnica, Angelica, etc. 



QUASSIA. 149 

Schultze's maceration fluid is an invaluable help in the 
study of the isolated parts of the wood and should be 
constantly employed. 

QUASSIA. 

The wood of Picrczna excelsa (Swartz), Lindley. Jam- 
aica. 

In the German Pharmacopoeia both Jamaica (P. ex- 
celsa) and Surinam {Quassia amara) Quassia are men- 
tioned. In billets of various sizes, dense, tough, of 
medium hardness, porous, with a minute pith and narrow 
medullary rays, inodorous and intensely bitter. In the 
shop it is met with in the form of chips or raspings of a 
yellowish- white color. 

Description. — The bark is 0.5 to 1.0 cm. wide, and 
breaks off quite readily. It is of a dark color and 
shows on cross-section a radial irregular structure. Be- 
neath the end is a narrow, grayish layer, beneath which 
is the main body of the wood, showing a number of ducts 
and medullary rays. Central pith in the interior. The 
cells of the periderm are oblong, the outer ones being 
stained dark-brown. The parenchyma of the outer 
layer is rich in calcium oxalate crystals. 

Jamaica. — Elements large; medullary rays two to 
five, lying close to vessels. Single calcium oxalate 
crystals in woody parenchyma. Pores elongated radially 
(crystal cells) ; more bordered pores. 

The phloem contains bast fibres which are well marked, 
cambiform cells, and sieve tubes which are somewhat 
contorted and irregular. 

The medullary rays are some two or three cells in 
width, contain starch, and widen out very markedly in 
the phloem portion of the bundle. 

The xylem contains: Vessels, tracheids, woody fibres; 
woody parenchyma and simple parenchyma. 

The vessels are large, two or three collected and 



i5° 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



surrounded by a layer of pitted woody parenchyma 
containing resin at times. Pitted vessels predominate. 
The woody fibres are numerous, making up the greater 
part of the bundle. The woody parenchyma forms 
tangential bands which are quite a marked feature of this 
wood. These contain at times calcium oxalate crystals. 
The pith consists of large, spherical cells, abundantly 
pored, containing numerous calcium oxalate crystals. 




Fig. 38. — Cross-section Quassia. 
WP, Wood parenchyma; M, Medullary rays; W, wood fibres; RD, re- 
ticulated ducts. 



Surinam. — All the elements are smaller, so that the 
wood seems harder and thicker. The medullary rays 
are narrower, generally only one, rarely two cells wide, 
five to twenty cells high; woody parenchyma less; 
vessels thicker walled. Vessels in groups of two to five; 
about one-half diameter of distance between medullary 
rays; pores broader than long. Calcium oxalate not 
found in wood, but in medullary rays. 

Under the low power the stem and branch pieces 



QUASSIA. 151 

show a small one-half inch thick rind. Within is 
seen the strongly marked whitish yellow woody centre, 
which shows concentric sheath and narrow vessels and 
very fine, closely arranged whitish medullary rays. A 
light brown pith is found in the centre. 

With the higher magnification the cortex shows a layer 
of cork, on cross-section oblong quadrangular, on long sec- 
tion somewhat elongated hexagonal. Within is found a 
layer of parenchymatic cells rich in calcium oxalate, also a 
number of stone cells, which at times form a more or less 
complete sheath separating the outer from the inner cor- 
tex. The phloem of the fibro-vascular bundles consists of 
a few bast fibres, sieve tubes, and parenchyma. They are 
radially arranged and separated by the medullary rays, 
which have become somewhat wider than when in the 
xylem portion of the bundle. 

The medullary rays are small, one or two cells wide 
only. The xylem contains ducts, woody parenchyma, 
and simple parenchyma. 

The woody tissues lie in more or less alternate rows of 
two or three pitted vessels surrounded by woody fibres and 
one or two rows of woody parenchyma, pitted with simple 
pores. There are no annular rings, as the plant is tropical. 
Pith is composed of polyhedral cells. 

Differences. — Surinam, smaller pieces, branches, etc. ; 
Jamaica, blocks, etc. 

Surinam, medullary rays one cell wide or only two. 
Vessels smaller. Sheath of parenchyma in wood one or 
two cells wide. Smaller sized pieces, never over four 
inches in diameter. Thin, brittle bark. Denser wood. 
Crystals present in woody parenchyma (Meyer) . 

Jamaica, rays two or three cells wide. Vessels double 
the size. Woody parenchyma two to four cells wide. 
Large blocks. More open and porous. Crystals in 
woody parenchyma and medullary rays. 

Chemistry. — The main and important constituents of 



152 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

both forms of quassia is quassin. Besides this, there is 
some resin and starch. The wood of the Surinam variety 
yields 3.6 per cent, and its bark 17.8 per cent, ash, while 
the figures for the Jamaica variety are respectively 7.8 
and 9.8 per cent. 

H^MATOXYLON. LOGWOOD. 

The heart wood of Hcsmatoxylon Campechianum, Linne 
(nat. ord. Le gummosa). 

This is a tropical tree, 8 to 12 metres (24 to 36 feet) high, 
a native of Central America, but since 1715 cultivated in 
Jamaica and other West Indian islands. The trunks and 
branches of the trees at least ten years old are collected, 
and the yellowish sap wood removed. 

Description. — The wood comes in logs about three feet 
long and weighing about 50 kilograms. It is bluish 
black or greenish externally, fibrous, splitting easily, the 
fresh surfaces shining red brown. The wood also often 
occurs in commerce in the form of chips or powder which 
have been exposed to air and moisture and have assumed 
a greenish-black color. In this state it should not be 
used as a drug. The odor is pleasant, the taste sweet 
and astringent. It colors the saliva red. 

Histology. — A cross-section of the root shows in general 
a number of irregular transverse bands, alternately 
light and porous and dark and dense. The former form 
the groundwork in which the unconnected, sinuous, 
diamond-shaped masses of shining sclerenchymatic wood 
tissue are embedded. Fine medullary rays divide the 
whole into equal sections. These are one to three cells 
wide and contain a red brown pigment. The dense 
masses are made of long, polygonal, thick-walled, finely 
dotted wood cells, colored a deep red brown. The 
porous ground tissue consists of polygonal slightly thick- 
walled parenchyma through which run the large pitted 
vessels, singly or in couples. They often occupy the 



SANTALUM RUBRUM. RED SAUNDERS. 1 53 

entire space between two medullary rays. They are 
filled with red brown masses, as is also the parenchyma, 
which in addition contains many-faced crystals of cal- 
cium oxalate. 

Powder. — The color, odor, and taste, all of which 
are characteristic, are of more diagnostic value than the 
microscopical characters. It may be distinguished from 
Brazil wood and Red Saunders by its yielding a purple 
color with alkalies, whereas Brazil wood causes a red 
color and Red Saunders remains unaffected. The powder 
shows, however, the large pitted vessels, the thick wood 
fibres, and the narrow medullary rays. Calcium oxalate 
crystals are rare. 

Chemistry. — Haematoxylon contains tannin, volatile 
oil, resin, and, as its important commerical constituent, 
hematoxylin. An aqueous solution of the latter yields 
columnar crystals, which are colorless and very sweet, 
resembling licorice. By the influence of air and moist- 
ure or other weak oxidizing agents these crystals become 
dark red brown. In solution with ammonia exposed to 
the air they yield violet-colored hasmatin-ammonia, which 
at i3°C. yields its ammonia, leaving hasmatin, a blackish- 
violet crystalline powder with a green lustre. With 
metallic salts they yield variously colored precipitates. 
Fused with potash, hasmatoxylin yields pyrogallol. 

SANTALUM RUBRUM. RED SAUNDERS. 

The wood of Pterocarpus santalinus, Linne films (nat. 
ord. Leguminosce) . 

This is a small tree, native of the Coromandel coast, 
but cultivated in the East Indies and the Philippines. It 
grows to be about 30 to 40 cm. in diameter and 6 to 8 
metres (18 to 24 feet) high. 

Description. — Red Saunders is found in the market 
either in logs derived from the lower portion of the trunk 
and the larger roots or in chips, raspings, and powder. 



154 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

The former are irregular, heavy, deprived of bark and 
sap-wood, i m. to 1.5 m. long, 12 to 15 cm. thick, the 
surface from exposure dark-brown, with a slight greenish 
tint, internally deep red. The wood is firm, fibrous, 
susceptible of a high polish, but easily split. It is odor- 
less and tasteless and does not color water. 

Histology. — The wood on cross-section reveals al- 
ternate bands of dark, dense, and shining tissue and 
lighter and porous circles. A radial longitudinal section 
shows a peculiar structure characterized by the oblique 
directions in which the alternate bands run, crossing each 
other at an angle of 30 degrees. The wood is divided 
radially by numerous fine medullary rays into narrow 
bands. 

The wood fibres of the dense bands are long, varying 
much in diameter, their deep red thickened walls leaving 
small round or oval lumens. 

The light porous bands are composed of two to eight 
rows of slightly thickened cubical pitted parenchyma tic 
cells containing large crystals of calcium oxalate and 
masses of red resin. Imbedded in this tissue are the 
large pitted walled vessels, single or in couples, often 
occupying all the space between the medullary rays. 
They are often filled with red resin. The medullary rays 
are a single cell wide, rarely two -celled, and vertically 
five to eleven cells high. Their outer ends are curved. 

Powder. — The powder is dark red, odorless and taste- 
less, colored bluish-red by alkalies. It consists mostly 
of wood fibres, but with some pains portions of the 
closely pitted vessel walls and fragments of tissue showing 
tangential sections of the medullary rays may be found. 
These being but one cell row in width, distinguish this 
from all other red woods (Moeller). Calcium oxalate 
crystals are also present. 

Chemistry. — Santalic acid or santalin is the principal 
constituent. Further, pterocarpin and santal and homo- 



BARKS. 155 

pterocarpin. Santalin, C 15 H 14 2 or C 17 H 16 6 , crystallizes 
in minute red prisms, insoluble in water, dissolving in 
alcohol with a red color and an acid reaction, in ether 
with a yellowish and in alkalies with a violet color. 
Pterocarpin, C 17 H 16 5 , colorless crystals, insoluble in 
water, with difficulty in alcohol, easily in chloroform and 
carbon disulphide. Soluble in concentrated sulphuric 
acid with a red, in nitric acid with a green, color. San- 
tal, C 6 H 8 3 , colorless crystals, insoluble in water, with 
difficulty in ammonia water and dilute alcohol, easily in a 
weak solution of potash with at first a red and then a 
green color. Ferric chloride turns the alcoholic solution 
red. Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves the crystals 
with a red, nitric acid with a green, color. Homoptero- 
carpin, colorless crystals, soluble in carbon disulphide. 



BARKS. 

The subject of barks in pharmacognosy is a much 
abused one. The vegetable anatomist has one definition 
of a bark, whereas the pharmacognocist has another. 
To the one it consists of tissues developed in the main 
from the layer of primary tissue termed the dermatogen, 
and comes to be entirely outside of what is known as the 
phloem portion of the fTbro-vascular bundles. To the 
other, who does not restrict the term so closely, the 
bark consists of all those structures outside of the cam- 
bium line; in this sense, then, being a wider term than 
that of the anatomist, including both phloem structures 
and those in the bark proper. Hence the pharmacogno- 
cist can rely in great part for the detection of the barks 
upon the bast fibres, which, according to the anatomical 
definition, have no place in the bark. The description of 
the general type of barks here adopted will include both 
definitions. 

In the growing stem anatomists have defined three 



156 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

regions of growth, the periblem, the plerome, and the 
dermatogen, from which within general limits the ground 
tissue, the fibro-vascular bundles, and the epidermis 
severally take their origin. 

Primary epidermis is found in few official barks and is 
to be seen best in some of the official herbs. In young 
stems this layer is generally one or two cells thick, the 
outer cells being cutinized. 

Secondary epidermal structures are common. Among 
the official plants are found the following types. 

In the stems of most dicotyledons and a few monocot- 
yledons a series of changes take place which make up the 
secondary epidermal structures. These secondary changes 
are brought about by means of what is known as the 
phellogen layer. As the stem of a plant gets larger the 
primary epidermis is forced off, and if no other structures 
grew, the tissues of the plant would suffer exposure; 
so that while the increase in size is taking place and the 
primary epidermis is being thrown off a layer of cells 
immediately beneath the primary epidermis takes on 
meristematic growth, forming the phellogen layer, and 
builds up the periderm, adding new structures mainly 
composed of isodiametric cells on both inside and out- 
side. 

The modifications of these isodiametric cells on both 
inside and outside make up a number of distinct types, 
the most important of which are the cork cells. These are 
generally the outermost. Beneath these parenchymatic 
cells, which may be thickened, stone cells may be found. 
Within the phloem elements are present. 

Hence from the pharmacognostic standpoint the follow- 
ing structures are to be identified and studied : Cork cells ; 
stone cells; bast fibres; sieve tubes, generally lost or 
dried or otherwise mutilated; simple parenchyma. 



CORTEX RHAMNI PURSHIANA. CASCARA. 1 57 

CORTEX RHAMNI PURSHIANA. CASCARA. 

Rhamnus Purshiana (Cascara Sagrada) . — Chittem Bark. 
The bark of Rhamnus Purshiana, De Candolle (nat. ord. 
RhamnacecB). Habitat, northwestern United States. 

Description. — Occurs in quills or curved pieces, about 
3 to 10 cm. long, and about 2 mm. thick; outer surface 
brownish-gray and whitish; the young bark having 
numerous, rather broad, pale-colored warts; inner sur- 
face yellowish to light brownish, becoming dark brown 
with age ; smooth or finely striate ; fracture short, yellow- 
ish, in the inner layer of thick bark somewhat fibrous ; 
inodorous ; taste bitter. 

The medullary rays are thin and extend about three- 
fourths of the width across the bark. They occur in 
groups which converge at their outer ends, thus differing 
from Rhamnus Calif ornica. Stone cells are present, thus 
distinguishing it from Rhamnus frangula. Powdered 
bark turns orange on the addition of alkalies. Rhamnus 
Calif ornica turns a deep red. 

Powder. — The powder shows the following elements: 
Crystals, starch, resin, cork, bast fibres, parenchyma, 
medullary ray tissue, stone cells, and fragments of long- 
celled tissues from the phloem part of the fibro-vascular 
bundles. 

Crystals are the most characteristic constituents of the 
powder. These are usually in great abundance and 
are particularly prominent in a fine powder. The 
rosette forms are the most common; these vary in 
size, but on the average run about 15 to 20 microns. 
Cubical crystals are found clinging about the bast fibres 
in numbers ; these are smaller, averaging between 5 and 
10 microns in a number of specimens examined. 

The starch grains are not of much diagnostic im- 
portance, being simple, quite small, and usually incon- 
spicuous. They average in size about 4 microns. 



158 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



The cork cells are in abundance and are of interest; 
they vary in size from about 1 5 to 2 5 microns and often are 
found isolated. 

Bast fibres are found, in fragments, depending upon 
the fineness of the powder ; they are usually colored some 
shade of yellow or brown, are about 5 to 15 microns in the 



4 ^o* 




Fig. 39. — Powdered Cascara. 
C, Crystals, two kinds; B, bast fibre with crystal sac; Cr., Cor, 
cork; P, PAR, parenchyma with starch; ST, stone cells; M, medullary 
rays; S, starch; O, tissues of phloem. 



short diameter and contain clustered cubical crystals in 
small crystal sacs, one crystal to a sac, along their long 
diameter. 

The parenchymatic tissues vary widely. Those of the 
middle bark are usually wider lumened and average about 
20 microns in diameter and about 40 microns in length. 
The cell walls are delicate, those nearer the outer bark 



CORTEX CINNAMOMI. CINNAMON. 1 59 

showing the stained walls. The parenchyma of the phloem 
portion of the bark, the inner bark, is more irregular and 
contorted, usually due to drying and to hardening of the 
resin, which seems to be more abundant in this part of the 
bark. 

The stone cells are frequent. They are very irregular 
and characteristic. In the main, their diameters vary 
between 25 and 50 microns. 

The medullary ray parenchyma is only infrequently 
met with and presents no noteworthy characteristics. 
It is usually richly pitted. 

The cells from the sieve tube portion of the bark are 
much distorted, as a rule, but in a field of the whole slide 
some long thin- walled elements may be found. 

Chemistry. — Tannic, oxalic, and malic acids, fixed 
oil, volatile oils, a neutral crystalline substance resembling 
frangulin; red, yellow, and brown resins which change 
to an intense purple on addition of caustic potash. 

CORTEX CINNAMOMI. CINNAMON. 
SAIGON CINNAMON. 

Cinnamomum Saigonicum (Saigon Cinnamon; Ger. 
Saigonzimmt) . — The bark of an undetermined species 
of Cinnamomum (nat. ord. Laurinece), so called from 
Saigon, in French Cochin China. 

Description. — In quills about 15 cm. long and 10 to 15 
mm. in diameter, the bark is 2 or 3 mm. thick; outer 
surface gray or light grayish-brown, with whitish patches, 
more or less rough from numerous parts and some trans- 
verse ridges and fine longitudinal wrinkles; the inner 
surface cinnamon-brown or dark-brown, granular and 
slightly striate; fracture short, granular, in the outer 
layer cinnamon-colored, having near the cork numerous 
whitish striae forming an almost uninterrupted line; 
odor fragrant; taste sweet, warmly aromatic, somewhat 



l60 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

astringent. Saigon cinnamon is darker than Ceylon or 
Cassia ; in thickness it exceeds both, while its taste is the 
strongest. 

CEYLON CINNAMON. 

Cinnamomum Zeylanicum (Ceylon Cinnamon ; Ger. Zey- 
lonzimmt) . — The inner bark of the shoots of Cinnamomum 
Zeylanicum, Breyne (nat. ord. Laurineoe). Ceylon. 

Description. — Long, closely rolled quills, composed of 
eight or more layers of bark of the thickness of paper; 
pale yellowish-brown; outer surface smooth; fracture 
short-splintery; odor fragrant; taste sweet and warmly 
aromatic. 

The microscopical anatomy of this bark is similar to 
that of Cassia Cinnamon, except that the elements are 
smaller, particularly the starch granules, which are 
mostly about 6 microns in diameter. 

CASSIA CINNAMON. 

Cinnamomum Cassia (Cassia Cinnamon; German, 
Cassienzimmt) . — The bark of the shoots of one or more 
undetermined species of Cinnamomum, grown in China 
(Chinese Cinnamon) (nat. ord. Laurinea) . 

The Cinnamomum aromaticum of Nees, Cinnamomum 
cassia of Blume, are the more generally received names 
for the plant which yields the Cassia cinnamon. This 
is widely cultivated in the southern provinces of China, 
between certain latitudes, 22 to 23 , and the bark is 
usually taken from the six- to ten-year-old trees. The 
pieces are scraped so that most of the true corky tissue is 
removed, dried, packed, and shipped in appropriate 
lengths. The bark from the more delicate stems and the 
young twigs which are taken from the trees are usually 
used in China. 

Description. — Cassia is found in quills of various shapes 
and sizes, forming complete tubes or only portions of 
tubes from 1 to 3 cm. in transverse section and from 25 




Fig. 40. — Cross-section Cassia Cinnamon. 
CT, Cork tissue; P, parenchyma, with stone cells, ST, inter- 
spersed in outer cortex; S, starch; GL, glands containing oil; B, 
bundle of bast fibres; M, medullary ray; S, sieve tubes; O, oil cell; 
C, mucilage cell. 

11 161 



162 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

to 40 cm. long. The individual pieces of bark vary 
from 1 to 3 mm. in thickness. 

The inner side is dark-brown, almost to black at times, 
the outer side is usually lighter — grayish-brown — in its 
general tone. The differences in the amount of the cork 
that has been scraped from the outer surface is the cause 
for the. variations in the color. When the cork has been 
removed entirely, the bark may be reduced to 1 mm. in 
thickness and have a clear reddish-brown exterior. 

The fracture is even, somewhat sharp and short, taste 
and odor aromatic, at the same time astringent and 
mucilaginous. 

Histology. — With a low power the cross-section is 
reddish-brown and shows near the centre a strongly 
refractile white line. On the outer side of this, near the 
cork, small whitish spots can be noticed, and the inner 
side shows fine radiating structures with numerous large 
empty spaces in the inner bark. 

Under magnification of from 400 to 600 diameters, 
the cross-section of the larger and thicker pieces shows 
on the outside an even, many-layered brownish cork 
sheath, the outer cork cells having thin walls ; the inner, 
thicker walls, making what is usually called stone cork — 
the ' ' bork' ' of some writers. Just beneath the outer bark, 
the parenchymatic cells of the middle bark are arranged 
somewhat tangentially. Here and there are found stone 
cells. These parenchymatic cells are usually rich in 
starch. Irregular oval mucilage cells are also present in 
this parenchyma. Marking off the middle bark from the 
inner bark is a line of mixed stone cells and bast fibres, 
which under the low power produces the white line. This 
is not continuous, being broken here and there by numer- 
ous thin- walled parenchymatic cells. 

The inner bark consists mainly of parenchymatic cells ; 
these are smaller than those in the middle bark and are 
traversed by the medullary rays, which vary from two to 



CORTEX CINNAMOMI. CINNAMON. 



163 



three cells in width. Bast fibres, single or in groups of 
two, three, or four, are few in number; mucilage cells are 
also rare, but large oil spaces are common and character- 
istic. The sieve tubes are numerous, but for the most 
part have undergone a keratenchymatous change, being 
reduced to strings of thick- walled cells, with very small 




Fig. 41. — Powdered Cassia Cinnamon. 
St, Stone cells, differing in thickening of walls; CST, cork stone 
cells; P, parenchyma; O.S, mucus cell; C, crystals; Cr, cork; B,bast 
fibres; M, medullary ray; F, short fibre; S, starch; O, oil cell; Rb, 
bast fibre. 



lumens. A few crystals may be found in the cells of the 
medullary rays or in special crystal sacs near the medul- 
lary rays. 

Powder. — The constituents of the powder are stone 
cells, cork cells, parenchyma, bast, crystals, and starch. 

The stone cells are very numerous. They vary widely 
both in shape and in the character of their thickening. 



164 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Some are almost completely lignified, while others are 
only slightly thickened, most of them are irregularly 
spherical to quadratic, slightly tangentially elongated 
(differing from the Ceylon), and richly pored; the pores 
are simple, and are usually intricately branched, especially 
in the more highly lignified cells. A number of the stone 
cells are irregularly thickened, one side remaining quite 
thin. This is the inner side, near the cambium. This 
is an important character in cassia bark, though it is not 
absolutely diagnostic of the bark, as has been stated by 
some observers. The stone cells vary in diameter from 
10 or 15 to 30 or 40, and sometimes 100 microns. Some- 
times stone cells may be found in which starch grains are 
deposited. 

Cork cells are not in abundance, as most of them have 
been scraped from the bark, yet they are always present 
in small quantities. They form the characteristic small 
reddish-brown cell masses,, distributed through the 
powder. Isolated cork cells with slightly thickened 
walls are present, and also typical stone cork cells. These 
latter are quite characteristic. They average about 20 
to 30 microns, and have partially lignified walls, with 
straight, simple pores. The lumen is usually filled with 
dark, reddish-brown masses. The parenchymatic tissue 
is apt to be irregular, contorted, slightly elongated in the 
direction of the long axis of the twig. The walls are 
usually stained a light yellow to deeper brown from the oil 
which is abundant in the bark. These cells are especially 
rich in starch, more particularly in the middle bark. 
They average about 50 to 100 microns in diameter. The 
parenchymatic cells of the inner (phloem) part of the 
bark are usually smaller than those outside. 

Fibres are conspicuous elements. Two types may be 
distinguished. Those of the primary bark (middle bark 
of the pharmacognosist) are in groups, and in the powder 
arc apt to be associated in bundles of 5 or 6 or more. 



CORTEX CINNAMOMI. CINNAMON. 165 

Those of the secondary bark (inner bark) are usually 
isolated or in twos; rarely in threes. The diameters of 
the fibres of the middle bark vary from 8 to 30 microns, 
while those of the inner bark are more or less constant, 
1 5 to 40 microns, averaging about 3 5 microns. The length 
of the two may be the same, 250, 400, 700, but about 500 
microns as a general average. The lignification may 
also be the same. The fibres of the primary bark are 
apt to be a little longer than those of the secondary 
bark. 

The starch is quite abundant; it is found closely 
packed in the parenchymatic cells of the middle and inner 
barks. The grains are both simple and compound. 
The compound grains consist of two, three, or four 
granules. The edges are rounded and the hilum is 
generally centric, simple, or sometimes slightly radiate. 
The grains average from 4 to 20 microns; the majority 
measuring about 10 to 13. 

In a few cells small acicular crystals of calcium oxalate 
are found. These are in small quantities only, and are 
readily overlooked. They rarely are over 5 microns in 
length. Still more seldom are small cuboidal crystals 
associated with the fibres. These are also minute, and, 
while seen sometimes in long sections of the bark, are 
rarely met with in the powder. 

Mucilage cells and oil cells are frequently found. The 
oil cells are the more prominent. They are situated 
more commonly in the outer part of the inner bark, and 
are quite large, being from 20 to 75 microns wide and 
sometimes 150 microns long. In many of the dried oil 
cells, small rectangular secretory bodies may be found. 

The powder from Ceylon cinnamon shows numerous 
fibres and stone cells. Parenchyma and starch. are not so 
abundant. 

The powder is best studied in chloral or in a 5 per cent, 
solution of lysol. 



l66 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Chemistry. — Ethereal oil between 2 and 3 per cent. ; tan- 
nin, mannit, mucilage, sugar, and ash from 2 to 5 per cent. 

Oil of Cinnamon consists of a hydrocarbon, cinnamyl 
acetate, and 80 to 90 per cent, of cinnamic aldehyde, 
C 9 H 8 2 , which takes up oxygen to form cinnamic acid. 

CORTEX GRANATI. POMEGRANATE. 

The bark of the stem and root of Punica granatum, 
Linne (nat. ord. Lythrariece) , a plant of India and south- 
western Asia ; naturalized in subtropical countries. 

Description. — In thin quills or fragments, from 5 to 10 
cm. long, and from 1 to 3 mm. thick ; outer surface yellow- 
ish-gray, somewhat warty, or longitudinally and reticu- 
lately ridged; the stem bark often partly covered with 
blackish lichens ; the thicker pieces of the root bark more 
or less scaly externally; inner surface smooth, finely 
striate, grayish-yellow; inodorous; taste astringent, very 
slightly bitter. 

Cross-sections of the bark, made with a sharp knife, 
are characteristic in that they appear almost completely 
homogeneous. The color of the cut surface is yellowish 
toward the outside, usually somewhat darker than the 
inner side. On very careful examination the medullary 
rays may be recognized as very fine dark radiating lines, 
and the tangential rows or parenchyma cells, in the 
fibres of the bark, as exceedingly fine cross-lines. In 
consequence of the lack of long, sclerotic elements the 
bark breaks short. 

Histology. — Only the thinnest pieces of the drug 
are furnished with a cork layer, since in the first year a 
cork cambium is produced deep within the primary 
bark, and later breaks off. Of the primary bark there 
remains, after the first production of periderm, only the 
innermost cell deposit of the thin-walled parenchyma, 
and the primary sieve tubes. Therefore, the cork cam- 
bium of the wood bark produces an apparently abundant 



CORTEX GRANATI. POMEGRANATE. 167 

periderm. On young, thin pieces of the drug there are 
here and there, on the outside, thick layers of cork, which 
consist of increased deposits of thick and thin-walled 
cork cells, but mostly only of layers consisting of two or 
four cells, which rest upon a layer of thin-walled cells. 
The cork cells are seen from above to be irregularly 
polygonal, but for the most part are quadrangular. In 
this thickening only the inner wall of the cell takes part, 




Fig. 42. — Granatum. 
Cross-section of portion of Granatum bark showing large stone 
cell to left, parenchyma filled with calcium oxalate crystals and starch 
grains, m, The medullary rays, free from crystals (Moeller). 

so that it sometimes takes up half the width of the cell; 
the remaining part of the cell wall is very thin. In young 
bark there are distinct and regular lenticels ; in old bark 
these are very much flattened out. Next the cork layer 
there is a layer of phelloderm, the cells filled with chlo- 
rophyll and starch. Next to the phelloderm, and scarcely 
to be differentiated from it, there is a narrow layer of cells, 
which arises from the primary bark tissues. After this 



l68 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

comes the irregularly formed outer part of the secondary 
bark. The secondary bark is penetrated by medullary 
rays, which are mostly one cell, seldom two cells broad, 
and from one to fourteen cells long. 

In the keratenchymatous strings there usually grow 
simple, tangential rows of oxalate cells, with small 
tangential bands of parenchyma enclosing sieve bundles. 
The similar tangential bands, in the entire bark, are made 
up of concentric rows. On the tangential or radial 
sections of the bark it may be seen that the thin-walled 
oxalate cells are placed together in long rows, or, what 
amounts to the same thing, they form long chambered or 
divided crystal tubes. The zones of sieve tube con- 
taining parenchyma are made up of rows, two to twelve 
cells long, of starch-bearing cells, having thickened walls, 
and of sieve bundles with rather broad, slightly bent, 
separating walls, and sieve tubes with simple sieve plates. 

In old barks a change takes place. The single paren- 
chyma cells of the phelloderm, and also those of the 
bark fibres, increase in size, and their walls thicken, often 
obliterating their lumen. At the same time, next the 
sclerenchyma cells, single cells are produced containing 
oxalate crystals. Later on a formation of cork takes 
place, which, when the layer of cork becomes about ten 
cells thick, is broken off. 

From the standpoint of the anatomist the root bark 
varies but slightly from the stem bark. It appears at 
first as though the bast fibres in the root bark were 
smaller than those of the stem bark, and that in old 
barks the elements contained more numerous and 
smaller stone cells. The very limited thickness of the 
phelloderm layer is characteristic both of young and old 
root barks; also the absence of the sclerenchyma cells, 
lying outside of the cambium, and the absence of chlo- 
rophyll in the phelloderm. In the root bark also the 
medullary rays extend entirely to the cork layer. 



CORTEX QUILLAJA. SOAP BARK. 169 

Chemistry. — The principal anthelmintic constituent 
of the drug is the poisonous pelletierin, C 8 H 13 NO, an 
alkaloid, yet the 20 per cent, of tannic acid contained 
therein is not without medicinal importance. Besides 
pelletierin, there are three other poisonous liquid al- 
kaloids — isopelletierin, pseudo-pelletierin, and me thy 1- 
pelletierin — found in the bark. The amount of alkaloid 
seems to vary from 0.1 to 1 per cent., and the various 
barks seem to give up their alkaloids to boiling water with 
a varying facility. 

CORTEX QUILLAJ.E. SOAP BARK. 

The inner bark of Quillaja Saponaria, Molina (nat. ord. 
Rosacea) . 

Description. — Flat, large pieces about 5 mm. thick; 
outer surface brownish- white, often with small patches 
of brown cork attached, otherwise smooth ; inner surface 
whitish, smooth ; fracture splintery, checkered with pale 
brownish bast fibres imbedded in white tissue; inodor- 
ous ; taste persistently acrid ; the dust very sternutatory. 
The infusion of quillaja foams like soap- water. 

The distinctly checkered arrangement of the tissue 
which appears on cross-section is due to the zones of 
sieve-tube groups and parenchyma which alternate with 
bast bundles and medullary rays. The medullary rays 
are made up of four rows of cells. The short bast fibres 
are very much knotted and bent, and contain cavities 
which enclose crystals of oxalate of lime, of unusual size 
and structure. In the parenchyma there are, besides the 
small starch granules, small lumps of a material which is 
probably saponin. They dissolve in sulphuric acid (sp. 
gr. 18.4), forming a yellow solution, which changes to red, 
and then to violet. 

Chemistry. — Shaken with water the saponin in the 
bark produces a lasting foam. Saponin is a poisonous 
glycoside, formed of two very poisonous substances, 



170 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



Quillaic acid (C 19 H 30 O 10 ) and Sapotoxin (C 17 H 26 O 10 ). 

Saponin may be separ- 
ated by boiling alco- 
hol to the amount of 
80 per cent., from the 
powder from the dried 
watery decoction of 
Quillaja bark. It is a 
white, amorphous, and 
tasteless powder , which 
does not produce sneez- 
ing. It has, according 
to Stutz, the formula 

^19""- 30^ io- 

Saponin is easily sol- 
uble in water, insoluble 
in ether or alcohol. It 
gives up its contained 
water only to alcohol. 
Under the influence of 
dilute acids it is, on 
boiling, resolved into 
sugar and crystalliz- 
able sapogenin. 

Sapotoxin is amor- 
phous, and easily solu- 
ble in water. It gives 
the burning acrid taste 
to the bark, and is the 

cause of the irritating action on the nose and mucous 

membrane (Jacobi). 




Fig. 43. — Quillaja. 
Longitudinal section of quillaja 
bark showing: K, Large crystals of cal- 
cium oxalate; bp, bast parenchyma; bf, 
bast fibres; s, sieve tubes; m, medullary 
rays (Moeller). 



CORTEX ANGOSTURA. ANGOSTURA BARK. 
This is the bark of a South American tree, variously 
named Cusparia febrifuga, Humboldt ; Galipea officinalis, 
Hancock; Galipea febrifuga, Baillon; Galipea Cusparia, 



CORTEX ANGOSTURA. ANGOSTURA BARK. 171 

St. Hilare; Bonplandia trifoliata, Wildenow (nat. ord. 
CuspariccE) . 

The tree attains a height of from 4 to 5 m. It is found 
in the mountains of Venezuela in the neighborhood of the 
source of the Orinoco River. The drug enters commerce 
by way of Trinidad. 

Description. — The bark comes in irregular, usually 
slightly curved pieces of various lengths and of a thickness 
of from 1 to 3 mm. The outer surface is mostly covered 
by a spongy, yello wish-white cork, warty and somewhat 
irregularly marked. The bark within is of a reddish- 
brown color, light, hard and brittle, in thin laminae 
which often show a shingle-like overlapping appearance 
on the under side. The fracture is sharp, showing 
glistening calcium oxalate crystals on the broken sur- 
faces. On maceration in water the bark swells up. The 
odor is disagreeably aromatic, the taste aromatic, sharp, 
and bitter. 

A cross-section shows three distinct zones. The outer 
light yellowish periderm, the innermost brownish bast 
region, which is interrupted by the sharp-pointed medul- 
lary rays penetrating into the shining light middle bark. 
The periderm consists largely of thin-walled, almost 
cubical cells, between which there may at times be found 
some stone cells. (Marme.) 

Between the thin- walled parenchyma cells of the outer 
bark single stone cells lie scattered; also many oil cells, 
which last are larger than the parenchymatic cells, and 
contain, in fresh condition, yellowish oil or resin. In this 
same general region many crystal sacs containing raphides 
may also be found. 

The inner bark contains many parenchymatic cells 
which contain starch and also crystals. In the inner bark 
there are also the phloem elements, sieve tubes and bast 
fibres. The bast fibres are arranged in small bundles. 
The medullary rays are two or three cells wide, but 



172 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

become markedly wider toward the periphery. The 
medullary rays contain starch and oil cells. Oil cells and 
crystal sacs are to be found in the inner bark also. 

Histology. — The periderm is composed of thin-walled 
cork cells with here and there groups with walls some- 
what thickened. The outer portion of the cortical 
parenchyma is composed of rectangular cells in regular 
radial files surrounding small and large groups of tan- 
gentially elongated stone cells. In the looser and more 
irregular layer of larger polygonal cells within are distrib- 
uted numerous large oil or resin cells with yellow con- 
tents and still more numerous groups of calcium oxalate 
raphides with more rarely single cubical crystals. The 
inner bark with its long well-developed phloem bundles 
occupies three -fourths of the thickness of the bark. 
These phloem bundles of layers of regular bast paren- 
chyma, thick- walled where inclosing sieve tube groups, 
with here and there groups of small thick-walled bast 
fibres, make up the laminated portion of the bark. The 
medullary rays, two and three cells wide, expanding 
outwardly, contain much starch, as does also the bast 
parenchyma. Here, as in the outer bark, calcium 
oxalate crystals and oil cells are frequent. 

The Powder. — The elements of the powder are the large 
oval oil or resin cells, surrounded by smaller-celled thin- 
walled parenchyma, calcium oxalate, rarely in rhom- 
boidal crystals, starch grains, cork cells, sometimes some- 
what thickened on the outer side, and occasionally narrow 
thick- walled bast fibres with simple pointed ends. Nu- 
merous groups of irregular thick-walled phloem paren- 
chyma representing the sieve tube portion of the liber 
are also met with. None of these elements, except per- 
haps the oil cells, are by themselves particularly character- 
istic, but altogether they render the recognition of the 
powder a matter of no great difficulty. 

Substitutes and Adulterants. — False Angostura, the 



CORTEX ANGOSTURA. ANGOSTURA BARK. 1 73 

bark of Strycknos Nitx vomica, which has been sold for 
Angostura bark in Europe, comes in hard, thick, curved 
fragments, the outer surface covered with a yellowish 
cork marked with whitish warts and rust-colored patches. 
The inner surface is gray and finely striated. A cross- 
section- shows near the surface a dense layer of whitish 
stone cells forming a continuous layer not present in the 
true bark. Oil cells and calcium oxalate raphides are 
absent. The taste, owing to the presence of brucine 
and strychnine, is very bitter without aroma. 

Brazilian Angostura, from Esembekia febrtfuga, is 
dark brown on the inner surface, the fracture fibrous, 
the taste bitter but not aromatic. It is distinguished 
microscopically by the presence of an abundance of stone 
cells, distributed in large groups throughout the entire 
bark. 

The bark of Sternostomum acutatum, D. C, is dis- 
tinguished by its smooth exterior surface, by the absence 
of stone cells, and by the presence of ligneous fibres, in 
very irregular groups. 

The bark of Alstonia scholaris is easily distinguished 
by its peculiar rough, deeply marked, dark gray surface, 
and microscopically by the presence of milk ducts, 
the absence of oil cells, and the large lumens of the stone 
cells. 

Chemistry. — The bark contains a yellowish, acrid, 
volatile oil, 0.75 per cent, starch, resin, and three al- 
kaloids — angosturine, C 10 H 40 O 14 , crystallizable, turning 
red with sulphuric acid and green with sulphuric and 
nitric acids, its salts yielding a blue fluorescent solution ; 
galipein, C 20 H 21 NO 3 , crystallizing in white needles, yield- 
ing soluble greenish-yellow salts; cusparin, C 19 H 17 N0 3 , 
in greenish-yellow needles, yielding yellow salts. The 
acetate and tartrate are soluble in water. Treated with 
potash, cusparin splits up into another alkaloid and an 
aromatic acid. 



174 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

CORTEX VIBURNI PRUNIFOLII. BLACK HAW. 

The bark of Viburnum prunifolium, Linne (nat. ord. 
CaprifoliaceoB) . 

This is a large shrub or small tree, 2.5 to 6 m. high, 
growing in the eastern part of the United States from 
Connecticut to Florida. The bark of both stem and root 
is collected. 

Description. — The stem bark occurs in small, thin, 
irregular, slightly curved pieces. Outer surface light 
brown or with irregular patches of silvery white, and 
blackish, much fissured cork, somewhat warty or showing 
small black dots. Inner surface smooth, showing minute, 
glistening crystals (calcium oxalate). The root bark is in 
much more irregular pieces, lighter in color, outer 
surface smoother, of an even grayish-brown color, inner 
surface striated. Both varieties are very brittle. The 
taste is bitter, more so in the root bark than in that of the 
stem, and astringent. There is no odor. 

Histology. — The cork when present is formed of typical 
flat tabular cells. The cortical parenchyma is made up of 
tangentially elongated polyhedral cells rich in agglom- 
erated crystals of calcium oxalate. Distributed through- 
out are round or oval various sized groups of stone cells 
with minute lumens and concentrically and radially 
marked walls. The liber is formed of regularly arranged 
radial lines of parenchyma. Fibres are absent, but, as in 
the outer bark, calcium oxalate crystals and stone cells 
are abundant. 

The many indistinct medullary rays one-cell wide, of 
regular radially elongated cells, divide the inner bark 
in narrow bands. 

Chemistry. — Two bitter resins have been isolated: 
one brown, proved not to be of glycosidal nature; the 
other greenish-yellow, slightly soluble in water, freely so 
in alcohol (Kramer's viburnin). Valerianic acid or 



CORTEX PRUNI VIRGINIANS. WILD CHERRY BARK. I 75 

tannin, yielding a greenish-black color with ferric salts, 
and oxalic, citric, and malic acids are also present. 

CORTEX PRUNI VIRGINIANS. WILD CHERRY BARK. 

"The bark of Prunus serotina, Ehrhart (nat. ord. 
Rosacea), collected in autumn." U. S. 

This is one of the largest of American forest trees, 
sometimes attaining a height of ioo feet with a trunk 
three or four feet in diameter. It is found from Hudson 
Bay south to Mexico, abounding in Kentucky and Ohio. 
The bark of the root is the most active. 

Description. — It comes in irregular pieces, i to 3 mm. 
thick, the thinner the younger, of variable lengths, 
slightly curved, usually deprived of the rust brown corky 
layer, greenish, shining, with brown transverse markings. 
The older the bark, the more the brown predominates. 
The inner surface is darker, showing white longitudinal 
striations. The fracture is brittle and granular. When 
dry it has a faint odor, developing when moistened that of 
bitter almonds. The taste is bitter, astringent, and 
aromatic. 

Histology. — The cork when present is formed of several 
rows of brown tabular cells. Imbedded in the cortical 
parenchyma of thin- walled, polyhedral, tangentially 
elongated cells are innumerable groups of sclerenchy- 
matic cells closely arranged in radial rows. The in- 
dividual sclerids are very thick- walled with small lumens, 
concentric and radial markings. The medullary rays, 
four to five cells wide, contain, as does the cortical 
parenchyma, frequent agglomerated crystals of calcium 
oxalate. The phloem is destitute of fibres, but, like the 
outer portions of the bark, contains numerous groups of 
sclerenchymatic tissue, irregular in size and shape. 
Starch is present in small round grains in bark collected 
in spring and fall. It fills the cells of the medullary rays 
and the bast parenchyma. 



176 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Chemistry. — Distilled with water, the bark yields hy- 
drocyanic acid and a volatile oil similar to that of bitter 
almonds. A bitter glycoside, amygdalin, crystallizing in 
colorless needles, is the source. It is soluble in warm 
water with a blue fluorescence intensified by alkalies and 
destroyed by acids. 

CORTEX SASSAFRAS. SASSAFRAS BARK. 

From bark of root of Sassafras variifolia, Sassafras 
officinale, U. S., from Canada to Florida, west to Missouri. 
Tree. Shrub. 

Irregular fragments, deprived of gray corky layer; 
bright rust brown, soft, fragile, with short corky fracture. 
Inner surface smooth, strongly fragrant; taste sweetish, 
aromatic, somewhat astringent. 

Histology. — The bark shows on section an outer, thin and 
compact, brownish layer; an inner loose, brownish, par- 
enchymatic layer, with perhaps a radial appearance in 
the inner bark. 

The outer bark is made up of from five to fifteen 
rows of regular, oblong, right-angled cork cells. Be- 
neath this there may be at times a portion of the 
primary bark. This consists of thin-walled parenchy- 
mal cells, large, generally rich in starchy contents. 

Scattered here and there in the parenchyma are 
several large oil cells which contain the active sassafras 
oil. Crystal cells and crystals are absent. The inner 
bark is composed in the main of thin parenchymatic 
cells with a few medullary rays. The medullary rays 
are generally two cells wide and the cells are more or less 
quadrangular and possessed of large simple pores. Here 
and there are a few bast fibres in the outer edge of the 
secondary bark; these are small in cross-section. 

Between the medullary rays lying in the inner side of 
the inner bark there may be found a few thin-walled cam- 
biform cells and perhaps some few sieve tubes. The sieve 



LEAVES. 177 

tubes have very delicate walls, 0.045 microns in diameter, 
and in dried specimens are made out with difficulty. 
The sieve plates are horizontal. 



LEAVES. 

For the purposes of the general student of pharmacog- 
nosy little or nothing need be said regarding the general 
shape, size, margins, apices, and bases of leaves, but 
attention is here given to the microscopical character- 
istics that present themselves in the determination of the 
leaves that are broken or powdered. Leaf structures are 
very characteristic. 

In order to correctly understand this microscopical 
structure it will be necessary to recall that in the leaf 
there are to be found parts of three types of tissues; 
the Epidermal, the Respiratory, and the Conducting 
Systems. The surface is mainly made up of the epider- 
mal tissues; the leaf is built up, and around the veins of 
the leaf, that is, about the conducting tissue, and in 
between are to be found the tissues of respiration and 
assimilation. 

The Epidermis. — From a diagnostic standpoint this is 
the most important of the tissues in broken or powdered 
leaves. The epidermis of leaves is a continuation of the 
epidermis of the stem, and is found to consist generally 
of one layer of tissue completely surrounding the leaf 
surfaces. It consists of isodiametric cells that fit into 
one another without intercellular spaces. Usually the 
outer wall of the cells is strongly cutinized, the degree 
of cutinization varying, as a rule, according to the amount 
of heat or cold the leaves are called upon to stand. In 
leaves that are normally horizontal the upper or more 
exposed side has epidermal cells whose walls are generally 
more markedly cutinized than are those on the lower or 
less exposed side. 



i 7 8 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 




Fig. 44. — General Structure of Leaf. 
/, Cross-section: e, e' , Epidermis; p, palisade cells; K, crystals in 
mesophyll; h, simple hairs; d, glandular hairs. II, Superficial view of 
leaf: }v, Spiral vessel; p, parenchymatic cells, with oval stomata and 
wavy outlines of epidermal cells; K, crystals. ///, Glandular hairs 
greatly enlarged. 



FOLIA SENNAS. SENNA. I 79 

In the leaves of evergreens that are exposed to ex- 
tremes of cold this same adjustment is apparent. 

The important parts of the leaf from the technical stand- 
point are, however, the trichomes. These are appendages 
or outgrowths of the epidermis, and their shapes, sizes, 
and characteristics are of great importance. Two main 
types of Trichomes are to be distinguished : 

1. Glandular Hairs. 

2. Trichomes proper. 

Glandular hairs are, properly, hairs that contain 
secretions. Trichomes proper exist in almost every 
conceivable variation, from simple papillae to many 
branched and shield-like hairs. 

Other important modifications of the epidermis are the 
stomata. These are peculiarly modified cells, as a rule 
oval to kidney-shaped, on a surface vein between which 
a space is left for the passage of gases into the cavity 
beneath.* 

FOLIA SENN.E. SENNA. 

Senna is the leaves of Cassia acutifolia and Cassia 
angustifolia; plants of eastern and central Africa and 
India. Cassia acutifolia is the Alexandrian senna, 
Cassia angustifolia, the Indian, especially fine qualities 
of which have received the name of Tinnevelly. This is 
said to come from Arabian seeds cultivated in southern 
India. 

Description. — The leaves of Cassia acutifolia are 3 
to 5 cm. long and 9 mm. broad, lanceolate or lance- 
oval, subcoriaceous, brittle, rather pointed, equally 
oblique at the base, entire, grayish-green, somewhat 
pubescent, of a peculiar odor and a nauseous, bitter taste. 
Cassia angustifolia leaflets are from 3 to 5 cm. long 
and 10 to 15 mm. broad, lanceolate, acute, unequally 

* For a more detailed study of the Leaf, consult "Morphology and 
Histology of Plants," Rusby and Jelliffe. 



l8o PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

oblique at the base, entire, thin, yellowish-green or dull 
green, nearly smooth; odor peculiar, somewhat tea-like, 
taste mucilaginous, bitter, and nauseous. 

Histology. — The cross-section of the midrib shows a 
woody pith, convex downward, whose vessels are placed 
in radial, fan-shaped rows. In Cassia acutifolia they 
are separated by broad medullary rows; in Cassia an- 
gusti folia they are closer together. A small layer of 
sieve-tissue surrounds the convex margin; this is bor- 
dered by several layers of polygonal, lignified cells in the 
form of a semicircle. 

The parenchymatous cells pass over into a collenchyma, 
which is covered by epidermis and cuticle. Along the 
upper side of the leaf the woody portion is covered by a 
plano-convex or elliptical plate, consisting of several 
layers of polygonal, lignified cells. Following this is a 
layer of chlorophyll, containing palisade cells, which lie 
close to the epidermis. In the mesophyll, a loose tissue, 
containing vascular bundles, crystal sacs, and calcium 
oxalate crystals, separates the broad upper palisade layer 
from the narrow lower one. The cells of the epidermis 
are polygonal, and both upper and lower surfaces arc 
supplied with stomata and warty hairs. 

Powder.- — This is brownish-green and has a leaf -like and 
also a peculiar characteristic odor. The following elements 
enter into the composition of the powder: Hairs, crystals, 
parenchyma, chlorophyll grains, stomata, and the con- 
stituents of the midribs and veinlets, fibres and spiral or 
annular vessels, and occasionally pitted ducts. 

The hairs are characteristic ; they vary greatly in size, 
reaching a length of 300 microns and usually averaging 
about 25 microns at the base; they are usually sharply 
bent either at the base or, more often, below the centre ; 
the upper third is minutely roughened. 

The cells clustered about the scars and the number of 
leaf scars found upon a fragment are characters used by 



FOLIA SENN^E. SENNA. 



ISI 



some writers to distinguish the varieties of senna; these 
have proved inadequate in the writer's experience. 







Fig. 45. — Senna in Powder. 
C, Crystals; H, hairs, large and small; EP, epidermis, above, show- 
ing scars of hairs; P, parenchyma; B, bast fibres; W, woody fibres; 
AV, annular vessel; RV, reticular vessel; V, pitted vessel; X, epi- 
dermis of leaf about a hair; Fib, fibres of phloem. 

The crystals are small and at times rare. Two types 
are observable: flat tabular angular forms and the 
spherical agglomerative variety. 



1 82 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

The parenchymatic tissue is the characteristic mes- 
ophyll of leaves ; in fresh powders the chlorophyll grains 
are prominent and numerous. The stomata are held to 
be characteristic by some writers, but exhibit great 
variety in form. 

The elements of the leaf stalks and veins are usually 
conspicuous, lying in small masses; the vessels, spiral or 
annular, are of the usual form ; from the midrib or leaf 
stalk pitted vessels may be found, also a certain propor- 
tion of fibres; some short bast fibres may be found 
in the mesophyll. 

Chemistry. — The active principle is probably cathartic 
acid, a black amorphous glycoside. Besides this, there 
are sennapicrin, a bitter substance, crystallizable sugar, 
cathartomannite, and also chrysophanic, malic, tartaric, 
and oxalic acids, with mucin, tannin, and traces of a 
volatile oil. The ash constitutes i to 12 per cent. 

FOLIA DIGITALIS. DIGITALIS. 

" The leaves of Digitalis purpurea, Linne (nat. ord. 
Scrophularinece), collected from plants of the second 
year's growth." 

Digitalis is a handsome biennial herb, 2 to 5 feet high, 
growing in sandy or gravelly soil in the mountainous 
forests of Western Europe, from Norway to southern 
Spain. It is cultivated as a garden plant, and, to some 
extent, for the drug market. 

Leaves of the second year's growth only should be 
collected. They should be full-grown, gathered at the 
time of flowering, or, according to F. Schneider, during 
the late summer or early fall. The preservation of the 
virtues of the drug requires great care in drying. The 
leaves become inactive in about one year. The seeds, 
though little used in the United States, are stronger and 
more permanent. 

Description.— The lower leaves are narrowly oval in 



FOLIA DIGITALIS. DIGITALIS. 



I8 3 



shape, bluntly pointed, the base is decurrent, extending 
down the sides of the petiole. They measure 20 to 40 
cm. in length, 6 to 10 cm. in breadth, with strongly 
crenulate or crenulate-dentate, sometimes slightly un- 
dulate, margins. The upper leaves become smaller and 
are borne on gradually shorter petioles as they ascend. 
They are more oblong in shape with less crenulate 
margins. The upper surface is deep-green, paler in 
younger leaves, smooth or very slightly pubescent. The 
lower surface is much paler, grayish, and very hairy, and 




Fig. 46. — Cross-section of Digitalis Leaf Showing Midrib of 
Vascular Bundle and Hairs on the Epidermis. 



is marked by a network of very prominent whitish veins. 
The secondary veins leave the midrib, which is quite 
broad at the base, thence tapering upward, at an angle of 
about 45 degrees, and, following a somewhat undulating 
course, diverge to the margins, where they recurve. 
From them branch numerous tertiary veins, which form 
the coarse network so characteristic of this leaf. 



184 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

The odor of the fresh leaves is peculiar and disagreeable ; 
they possess a slight tea-like aroma. In infusion they 
develop the original disagreeable odor. The taste is 
acrid and bitter. 

Histology. — The upper epidermis of elongated polyg- 
onal cells, with sometimes slightly undulating walls, 
bears here and there simple and glandular hairs, but no 
stomata. The simple hairs are long, two to four-celled, 
very thin- walled, the terminal cell bluntly pointed. They 
show an inclination to turn at the cell-joinings. Often, 
too, the walls of a single cell are collapsed, while those on 
either side retain their normal form. The glandular 
hairs are short, formed of a one or two-celled pedicle 
supporting a spherical one or two-celled head, containing 
a yellow resinous mass. The mesophyll consists of a 
single row of palisade cells and three or four rows of 
thin- walled, round or elongated parenchyma, loosely 
arranged, with large intercellular spaces. Calcium oxa- 
late crystals are entirely absent. The structure of the vas- 
cular bundle in the primary nerve is bi-convex, formed 
of radial rows of vascular tissue and a sieve portion, 
separated by masses of polygonal, vertically elongated, 
and densely thickened wood tissue. Large-celled paren- 
chyma and interlocked collenchyma occupy the space 
between the fibro-vascular bundle and the epidermis 
on either side. The under epidermis is composed of 
unusually small cells with undulating interlocking out- 
lines. Both varieties of hairs are plentiful. The stomata 
are also of frequent occurrence. They are small, oval, or 
often almost round. 

Powder. — The most conspicuous element of the powder 
is the hairs. These, with their extremely thin walls, 
are of diagnostic importance. Portions of the un- 
der epidermis, with their small interlocked cells and 
stomata, are also noteworthy. For the rest, the fibro- 
vascular elements and parenchyma are of little value. 



FOLIA DIGITALIS. DIGITALIS. 



I8 5 



The absence of calcium oxalate crystals distinguishes 
this from all other narcotic herbs. 

Adulterations and Substitutions.— Verbascum leaves 
from Verbascum phlomoides, L., and V. thapsiforme, 
somewhat resembling digitalis, are thicker and, on the 
under side, more densely hairy. Microscopically they 




GLASSFORD 



Fig. 47. — Digitalis in Powder. 

H, Hairs; G, glands; Mes, mesophyll, seen on end; Tr, tracheids; 

U.E, upper epidermis; L.E, lower epidermis; V, vessels. 



are readily distinguished by their branched star-shaped 
hairs. 

The leaves of Symphytum officinale, L., are entire, 
rough-haired, and without bitter taste; those of Inula 
conyza, D. C, are entire or sharply serrate, with thicker- 
walled hairs than those of digitalis (Moeller). 

In powder the drug is adulterated with belladonna, 
stramonium, and hyoscyamus. All these contain calcium 



1 86 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

oxalate crystals; belladonna in the form of fine powder 
(sand crystals) ; stramonium, sand crystals and agglom- 
erations; hyoscyamus, large single crystals. 

In digitalis, as stated, all forms of calcium oxalate 
crystals are entirely absent. 

Chemistry. — The chemistry of digitalis is complex and 
as yet incompletely studied. There are in the market 
a large number of commercial products. The French and 
German digitalins, however, are supposed to represent the 
drug. Neither do so completely. Schmiedeberg (1874- 
75) has isolated four principles, all free from nitrogen — 
digitonin, digitalein, digitalin, and digitoxin; further, 
there are present two acids, digitalic and antirrhinic, 
a stearopten, digitalosium, inosite, and ash, 10.5 per cent. 
Reduction compounds of the glycosides are common. 

Digitonin, C 31 H 52 17 , is an amorphous glycoside, 
similar to saponin, readily soluble in water, slightly so in 
alcohol, insoluble in ether, chloroform, and benzin. 
Boiled with dilute acids, it splits up into glucose and two 
amorphous principles. 

Digitalein, the existence of which has been questioned 
by Kiliani, is described as an amorphous white powder, 
readily soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. 

Digitalin, C 5 H 8 2 , is amorphous or distinctly crystal- 
line, difficultly soluble in water and ether, easily soluble 
in alcohol. Heated with acids, it splits up into glucose 
and digitalin-resin. It is the principal constituent of the 
amorphous French digitalin. 

Digitoxin, C 21 H 32 2 , crystallizes in needles. It is 
soluble in chloroform and hot alcohol and ether, not at all 
in water or benzin. Boiled in alcoholic solution with 
dilute acids, it yields amorphous toxiresin. Digitoxin, 
which is the most active of the constituents of digitalis, 
forms the greater portion of crystalline French digitalin. 

Kiliani has more recently shown that there are differ- 
ences in the contents of these bodies in seed and in the 



BELLADONNA. 187 

leaf, and his work has been revised by Cloetta.* Kiliani 
found digitoxin and digitophyllin and a product allied 
to digitalin in the leaves. In the seeds he found digitalin 
and digitonin. Cloetta 's results confirm in part only the 
researches of Kiliani. 

Digitalic acid crystallizes in white needles, having an 
acid taste and reaction, forming soluble salts with the 
alkalies and alkaline earths. It decomposes readily in 
the air. Antirrhinic acid is volatile. It is perhaps 
identical with valerianic acid. 

Digitalin-resin occurs in yellowish-white plates of a 
pearly lustre, smelling like fresh digitalis, and having 
a nauseous, astringent taste. It is soluble in alcohol and 
ether; slightly in hot water. 

BELLADONNA. 

Atropa belladonna is indigenous to many parts of 
southern and middle Europe, also to middle and southern 
Asia and South America. It does not thrive well in 
northern climates. It is extensively cultivated in Eng- 
land, America, and France. f According to A. Meyer, { 
it is not widely cultivated in Germany, but the leaves are 
gathered from the wild plants of two to four years of age, 
during the months of June and July. The cultivated 
plants are made to yield two crops of leaves, in July and 
in September, after they are at least two years of age. 
One hundred parts of the fresh leaves yield about sixteen 
parts of the dried. 

Description. — The leaves when fresh are ovate with 
sharpened apex, narrowed at the base, from 20 to 30 
cm. in length and about 10 to 12 cm. broad. The 
margins are entire and the surface is smooth; here and 

* Journal of Pharmacology, 1899. 

f For cultivation, see Holmes, Pharmaceutical Journal and Trans- 
actions (3), No. 586, p. 237. 

JWissenschaftliche Drogenkunde, p. 194. 



i88 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



there a few hairs may be seen on the veins of the under 
side and also on the petiole. In this latter situation they 
are more numerous and larger. The younger leaves are 
more abundantly provided with hairs, and these also have 




Fig. 48. — Belladonna Leaf in Powder. 
Epi, Epidermis, to right in transverse section; to left, superficial 
view, showing contorted and wavy cell outlines and the wavy mark- 
ings of the epidermal cells which are quite characteristic: ST, Stomata; 
H, simple multicellular hairs; G, glands and glandular hairs; M, 
parenchymatic tissue of the mesophyll; Pr, parenchyma near the 
veins, vessels of the ribs and delicate fibre-like elements; C, to left, 
filled with crystal sand; to right, rosette-shaped crystal; these last 
being rare; O, parenchymatic cell with crystal sand; V, vessels. 



small-stalked glandular cells. The upper surface is dark- 
green, the lower lighter, grayish-green, showing whitish 
spots; these locate the cells containing the crystal sand 
of oxalate of calcium. 

Histology. — Both upper and lower surfaces of the leaf 



HYOSCYAMUS. 189 

show stomata. These are oval. A cross -section shows 
the epidermis, with slightly thickened outer cutinized 
wall, palisade tissues on the upper side only in a 
single row filled with chlorophyll grains, the mesophyll 
parenchyma with cells containing the crystal sand and 
cross-sections of the fibro-vascular bundles, which are 
more prominent in the lower parts of the leaf. 

Powder. — This is brownish to dark green. The most 
prominent features of a No. 60 powder are the epidermis 
cells. Other elements are hairs, mesophyll parenchyma, 
parenchyma of the fibro-vascular bundles, vessels, crystal 
sand, and rarely crystals. 

The epidermal cells are characteristic, they are very 
wavy and show very delicate wavy markings. The 
stomata are slightly elongated and have from three to 
four neighboring cells about them. The mesophyll 
parenchyma varies. It is in some places isodiametric, 
in others stellate. Large isodiametric cells imbedded in 
the mesophyll contain fine crystal sand of calcium oxalate. 
Larger calcium oxalate crystals of the rosette form 
occasionally are formed, but these are inconspicuous in the 
powder. 

The hairs are not diagnostic. They are few in number 
and come from young leaves, on the petioles or under 
sides of the chief veins in the older leaves. They are 
usually simple multicellular hairs. Small glandular 
hairs with short pedicles are also found. 

The vessels and fibres are few and not characteristic. 

Chemistry. — The chief constituents are atropine, some 
hyoscyamine, and a trace of belladonnine. According 
to some, the latter two are identical. Besides these there 
is present asparagin and 14 to 15 per cent. ash. 

HYOSCYAMUS. 

Hyoscyamus is the leaf and seeds of Hyoscyamus niger. 
Only the leaf will here be considered. Hyoscyamus is 



190 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

indigenous to many European countries, and is exten- 
sively used in gardens. 

Description. — The leaf is simple and entire and wilts 
very rapidly by reason of its open structure. Anatomi- 
cally it is bifacial, the palisade tissues being found on 
the upper side only. The epidermis of both sides is 
similar, and the stomata are distributed on both sides. 
The epidermis cells are irregular in shape, with wavy 
outlines save over the main veins, where they are some- 
what elongated and sharp pointed. Hairs are present on 
both sides. 

Histology. — The following structures are to be distin- 
guished: Parenchyma, crystals, epidermis cells, hairs, and 
fTbro-vascular elements. 

The parenchyma is thin- walled, simple, and usually 
rich in chlorophyll, often brownish in general color. 
Palisade cells from the upper side only are in single rows, 
rarely double, and these usually are connected at their 
lower ends to the funnel-shaped cells of the mesophyll. 

In the irregular mesophyll cells numerous crystals of 
calcium oxalate are to be found. These are very various 
■ — column-shaped, dice-shaped, cuboidal, and octahedral 
forms being found. Sometimes twin crystals are seen. 

The hairs are very characteristic: both simple and 
glandular types abound. Most of them are multicellular. 
The simple hairs end in straight non-secreting points, 
while others have many-celled heads which contain 
resin-like secretions. The simple hairs vary greatly in 
length and diameter. In length they often measure from 
100 to 400 microns, and often average betwen 20 and 50 
microns at the base. The wall is usually smooth. The 
glandular hairs may be larger even than the simple ones. 

Stomata are frequent, being found on both surfaces. 
They average about 40 microns in their longest diameter 
and about 30 in breadth; the "neben-zellen" average 
three to four, though there may be at times as many as six. 



HYOSCYAMUS. 



IQI 



Fibres are not common. Fragments of spiral vessels 
are not infrequent. Occasionally pollen grains may be 
found in the powder. 

According to Tschirch, the crystals are diagnostic 




Fig. 49. — Hyoscyamus Leaf in Powder. 
Epi, Epidermal cell with ST, stomata, and Gl, glandular hairs ; G, 
glands from the tips of the hairs; H, simple multicellular hair; PI, pali- 
sade tissue, rich in chlorophyll; C, crystals of at least four shapes; V, 
vessels from the ribs and petioles; those from the petioles may be 
reticulated; B, fibre from rib; P; pollen grains occasionally found. 



alone and serve as a means of differentiating this leaf from 
other leaves of the narcotic group. Thus hyoscyamus 
has at least four kinds of crystals ; stramonium has crystal 
glands; belladonna, crystal sand; and digitalis, no 
crystals. 



192 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Chemistry. — The main ingredients are hyoscyamine, 
an alkaloid, and hyoscine, also an alkaloid, and some 
potassium nitrate. The exact composition of hyoscya- 
mine is not yet determined. 

PILOCARPUS. 

Pilocarpus is the leaflets of Pilocarpus selloanus and 
Pilocarpus jaborandi, respectively termed Rio and Per- 
nambuco jaborandis. These plants are low shrubs, 
usually from four to six feet high, and inhabit the forests 
and cleared hillsides of Brazil. A large number of species 
are known, some eight to ten of which have been described 
as occurring in the markets.* These species are some- 
times used as adulterants, and in addition some ten to 
twelve allied plants have been figured, all of which have 
at various times been used for sophistication. The 
plants of the pharmacopceial species are now under culti- 
vation. 

Description. — Dried jaborandi leaves are usually green- 
ish-brown in color and oblong-lanceolate in shape, vary- 
ing from two and a half to four inches. The apex is 
blunt and emarginate, the margin entire and re volute. 
The base is usually rounded and unequal and attached to 
a short stalk. Upon the upper surface the lateral vessels 
are distinct; the lower surface is glabrous, but sometimes 
bears a few scattered hairs. 

Histology. — The following elements may be identi- 
fied: Leaf epidermis with stomata, leaf mesophyll, 
fibrous tissues from the midribs and petioles, oil glands, 
crystals, starch, hairs, and sometimes stone cells. 

The leaves of pilocarpus are dorsiventral ; the stomata 
are confined to the lower surface, hence in the powder 
upper and lower leaf surfaces are to be differentiated. 

The upper epidermal cells are usually regularly poly- 
gonal, they vary greatly in average diameter in the 

*H. II. Rushy, Druggists' Circular, 1902. 



PILOCARPUS. 



193 



different varieties of jaborandi, and they are usually 
somewhat wrinkled; over the region of the nerves the 
walls of the epidermal cells are at times richly pored; 




£b. 







Fig. 50. — Jaborandi in Powder. 
Epi, Epidermis of upper surface: above, cross-section; below, 
surface view; E, epidermis of under surface: above, from inside ; below, 
surface view; Ea, epidermis over mid nerve; P, palisade tissue — leaf 
mesophyll; H, hairs; C, crystals; V, spiral vessels ; T, tracheids; Fib, 
fibres; S, stone cells of petioles; O, oil gland. 



the outer cutinized wall is, on the average, thicker in the 
official leaves. 

The stomata vary in the various species; they are 
confined to the lower epidermal surfaces. 



194 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

The leaf mesophyll is made up of irregular parenchy- 
matic tissue, some palisade cells with chlorophyll, and 
many cells contain isolated aggregated crystals of calcium 
oxalate. A few rhomboid, tabular crystals may also be 
at times found, though they are few and readily over- 
looked. The tissues from the nerves and petioles con- 
tain bast fibres, few in number; tracheids, a few spiral 
and annular ducts, and occasionally scalariform ducts. 

The oil glands are usually situated just beneath the 
epidermis of the leaf, either upper or under surface. The 
crystals have been mentioned as occurring in the meso- 
phyll; starch is usually rare, the granules are, as a rule, 
simple, rarely compound, with centric hilums, and vary 
from 6 to 10 microns. 

The hairs are very few. They are characteristic, 
however, long and curved, and are apt to be irregularly 
thickened towards the apex. Small stone cells sometimes 
occur in the petiole of the leaf.* 

Chemistry. — The leaves contain about one-half per 
cent, of ethereal oil and two alkaloids, pilocarpine and 
jaborine. 

MENTHA PIPERITA. PEPPERMINT. 

Mentha piperita, peppermint, is the leaves and tops of 
Mentha piperita, a small herbaceous plant widely culti- 
vated in gardens. 

Fluckiger states | that it does not resemble any known 
indigenous mint of Europe, and quotes Bentham as stat- 
ing that peppermint is probably derived from the wild 
form, Mentha hirsuta, L. 

Description. -The plant is a low perennial, two to 

* Two important researches have recently appeared upon the leaves 
of pilocarpus, that of Geiger, published in the "Bcrichte der Deutschen 
Pharmaceutischen Gesellschaft," 1896, and the other from the Pharma- 
cognosy Laboratory of the New York College of Pharmacy, by A. 
Schneider, "Journal of Pharmacology," vol. 4, 1897, p. 14. 

f Pharmakognosie des Pflanzenreiches. 



MENTHA PIPERITA. PEPPERMINT. 



195 




» .-: 



fr 



Fig. 51. — Mentha Piperita. 
/, Leaf of Mentha piperita. II, Cross-section showing, st, stomata; 
d, glandular hair; e, guard cell of stoma; p, palisade tissue; fv, fibro- 
vascular bundle; e f , epidermis lower side; df , oil glands; h, hairs; r, 
midrib. i77, Surface view of leaf, letters as in // (after Vogl). 



196 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

four feet in height. It has a creeping rootstock, from 
which it sends off long stolons, by which it is propagated, 
for the most part. The stems are square, erect, purplish, 
slightly pubescent, and many times branched above. 
The corolla is light purple, four-lobed, typically bilabiate, 
with four enclosed didynamous stamens. The calyx 
is nve-lobed, about 2 mm. in length, purplish, and 
pubescent, with simple multicellular and glandular hairs. 
The corolla is about twice the length of the calyx. 

The drug is made up for the most part of the leaves. 
These range from 5 to 8 cm. in length and about 2 cm. in 
width, borne on a petiole about 1 cm. long. They are 
oval to ovate lanceolate in general outline, finely serrate, 
minutely glandular, and sparsely provided with hairs. 

Histology. — A cross-section of the leaf shows a 
delicate epidermal layer with a layer of palisade 
cells, beneath the upper surface; the lower epidermal 
layer is bordered by open parenchymatic cells, which 
are richly pored. The oil glands are usually short- 
pedicelled ; short glandular hairs are also present as well 
as elongated simple multicellular hairs. The cross- 
section of the midrib or large vein shows collenchymatic 
parenchyma, open collateral fibro- vascular bundles, with 
delicate vessels and thin-walled wood fibres and a few 
bast fibres.* 

Powder. — A medium fine powder, is dark green in 
color, and shows the following characteristic elements: 
Parenchyma, rich in chlorophyll, simple multicellular 
hairs, oil glands, sometimes showing menthol crystals 
within, glandular hairs, ducts, fibres, fragments of floral 
tissues, collenchyma, and pollen grains. 

The parenchyma is usually thin-walled and filled with 
chlorophyll grains ; at times it is richly pored ; the aver- 
age diameter of the cells ranges from 60 to 80 microns. 

The hairs are striking; they are thin-walled, usually 

* Sec Tschirch's angewandte Pflanzenanatomie, p. 120, Fig. 124. 



MENTHA PIPERITA. PEPPERMINT. 



197 



long and many celled, the walls being marked with fine 
longitudinal striae. These simple multicellular hairs 
are non-glandular. They may contain chlorophyll grains 
or unorganized contents. Small glandular hairs are 
also present. These are composed usually of two cells, 




Fig. 52. — Mentha Piperita in Powder. 
Epi, Epidermis, above, of upper side; below, underneath showing 
the pitted parenchyma; Tr, hairs or trichomes; Col, collenchyma; 
P, pollen grains from flower; Ep, cross-section of epidermis showing 
palisade cells; Fibr, fibres from midrib. 



a small quadrangular basal cell and an enlarged pyriform 
apical cell. 

The oil glands are characteristic ; they are globose and 
slightly flattened, multicellular with a short basal pedicel, 
and rilled with oil, in which, at times, crystals of menthol 
may be present. Their walls are thin, but resistant to 
evaporation. 

Ducts are not common in the powder ; they are usually 



198 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

delicate, and are either annularly or spirally thickened; 
pitted ducts may be found in specimens which have an 
appreciable quantity of the stout stems present. 

Fibres are also few in number in the powder. Bast 
fibres are apt to be isolated. Wood fibres are in groups. 
The walls of each type of fibre are but slightly thickened. 

Fragments of delicate, flat tissue, derived from the 
plant corolla, may be found; these are slightly colored, 
usually brownish, and readily recognized. 

Pollen grains are also not infrequent. The grains are 
echinate, roughened with minute spines, are globular, 
sometimes pointed at one side, to ovoid triangular. 
The surface is undulate, and they average in size, exam- 
ined in oil, 18.5 to 21.5 by 20 to 21 microns, being almost 
double the size of the pollen grains of Mentha virtdis, 
which, moreover, are distinctly triangular. 

Collenchymatic tissues of no particular characters 
are present ; these are derived from the structures of the 
midrib and the angles of the stem. 

Chemistry. — The plant contains resin, tannin, gum, and 
from 1 to 1.25 per cent, of ethereal oil. The perfectly fresh 
leaves contain 0.3 per cent. If the leaves are carefully 
dried, there is little or no loss, as the cuticle of the epi- 
dermis and glands does not permit of much evaporation. 
The ethereal oil is extremely complex, it is greenish 
yellow, thickens on standing, is soluble in equal volumes 
of alcohol, specific gravity 0.910, and consists of numer- 
ous terpenes, at least fifteen in number, with the general 
formulas C 10 H 16 and C 15 H 29 ; also menthon, C 10 H ]8 O, in 
which the crystallizable stearopten menthol, C 10 H 19 OH, 
is contained. 

ERYTHROXYLON. COCA. 

Erythroxylon is the leaver, of Erythroxylon coca. 
This is a shrub, three to six feet in height, a native of 
western South America, growing in and about the moun- 



ERYTHROXYLON. COCA. 199 

tain table-lands. It is there extensively cultivated, 
and recently also in India, Ceylon, and Java. The leaves 
are collected from plants over one year of age, and are 
slowly dried in the sun. Two varieties are commonly 
found in the market, the Huanuco and the Truxillo. 

Description. — The Huanuco leaves have a brownish- 
green color, are oval in shape, and vary from 4 to 8 
cm. in length and from 2.5 to 2 cm. in breadth. Both 
surfaces are glabrous, and the lateral veins are prom- 
inent. The margin is entire, and the lamina tapers to- 
ward both base and apex; the latter is acute and the 
midrib projects in the form of a minute horny point. 
The odor is faint but characteristic, and the taste slightly 
bitter. 

Truxillo leaves are smaller, pale green, and more 
fragile, hence usually more or less broken.* 

Powder. — This is greenish-brown ; if too yellow, it signi- 
fies age or imperfect drying. The Huanuco powder is 
usually darker than that derived from the Truxillo 
variety. 

The main histological elements found in the powder 
are crystals, parenchyma, epidermis, hairs, vessels, and 
fibres. The crystals are not abundant; they are of the 
cubical (monoclinic) variety, usually quite flattened and 
angular. They are found usually in crystal sacs, one 
crystal being in each sac, and are present also in the 
palisade cells; and also clustered about the bast fibres. 
The average size of the crystals is about 3 to 10 microns. 
The parenchyma is typical leaf parenchyma. It varies 
considerably in size, is usually thin- walled, and has on the 
upper sides of the leaf a single row of palisade cells, rich 
in chlorophyll. 

The structure of the epidermis of the upper and lower 
surfaces of the leaf is different. The upper surface is 
macroscopically smooth, though microscopically minutely 

* Consult H. H. Rusby, "Coca Leaves," Druggists' Circular, 1903. 



200 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



granular; the walls are regularly and strongly cutinized, 
Huanuco leaves possessing a thicker epidermis than the 
Truxillo. The lower surface is provided with stomata, 
which are thickly distributed. The outer wall of the 
epidermis on this side is swollen, making small, regular, 
readily recognizable protuberances. The epidermal cells 




Fig. 53. — Coca Leaf Powder. 
EP, Epidermis, side view, showing papillae; Epi, epidermis seen 
from above; Pr, parenchyma; F, fibres; T, tracheids; C, crystals; H, 
hair; V, pitted vessels; E, lower epidermis, side view below, surface 
above; B, bast fibre. 



of the under side are smaller than those of the upper. 
The epidermis also has a few simple multicellular hairs; 
these are few in number and readily overlooked, and are 
not figured in many illustrations of this powder. The 
fibres of the petioles, midribs, and veinlets form a con- 
spicuous feature, though not in great abundance. Vessels 
and fibres are found together. The vessels are of the 



EUCALYPTUS. 201 

spiral annular or reticulated types. The fibres are for 
the most part comparatively short ; those in the Huanuco 
coca being stouter and stronger than those in the Truxillo. 
A few starch grains may be found and some oil droplets. 

Chemistry. — The important constituents are the two 
alkaloids, cocaine and hygrine, together with tannic acid 
and wax. 

EUCALYPTUS. 

"The leaves of Eucalyptus globulus, Labillardiere (nat. 
ord. Myrtacece), collected from the older parts of the 
tree." 

This is a giant tree, native of Tasmania and Australia, 
but now cultivated in California and southern Europe. 
It attains a height of 60 or 100 m. and a circumference of 
10 to 15 m. 

Description. — The leaves are of two kinds; of these, 
only the older are official. They are thick, 15 to 30 cm. 
long, about 4 cm. broad, oblique and rounded at the base, 
borne on long, flat, frequently twisted petioles, in shape 
falcate, lanceolate, outline entire. Both surfaces are 
smooth and leathery. Color, greenish-gray, showing, 
when held to the light, translucent dots of oil-glands. 
The midrib is slightly prominent, the secondary veins 
parallel, united at the ends to two undulating marginal 
veins. The surface is marked with brown dots of sub- 
erized tissue. Odor, when bruised, strongly aromatic, 
camphoraceous ; taste pungent, aromatic, slightly bitter. 

Histology. — The epidermis, of several rows of strongly 
cuticulated, flattened cells, polygonal in outline, covering 
a single row of larger, less thickened cells, in accordance 
with the vertical position of the leaves on the tree, is alike 
on both surfaces of the leaf. Stomata are plenteously 
present on both sides. Within the epidermis are two or 
three rows of palisade cells, containing chlorophyll. 
Among the palisade cells near the epidermis are numerous 
large, round oil-glands. In many places the palisade 



202 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



tissue undergoes corky modification which results in the 
brown nodules which break through the epidermis, 
forming the spots found on the surface of the leaf. The 
mesophyll, through which run the fibro- vascular bundles, 
constituting the nerves, consists of somewhat irregular, 
but far more compact, tissue than is the rule. The cells, 
as well as those of the palisade layers, contain many 
crystals of calcium oxalate, both single and in glomerules. 
The nerves, which are compact and well developed, 




Fig. 54. — Eucalyptus. 
Cross-section of leaf of eucalyptus showing large schizogenous oil 
cell in the m, mesophyll; p, parenchyma filled with chlorophyll, pali- 
sade cell arrangement; sp, stomata; K, crystals (Moeller). 

consist of wood bundles arranged in regular rows, sur- 
rounded by bast fibres which are somewhat thickened 
on the periphery. The whole bundle is surrounded by a 
ring of woody parenchyma, which on each side becomes 
collenchymatic and extends to the epidermis of upper and 
lower surfaces. 



BUCHU. 203 

Powder. — In the fresh state the powder is light green. 
The characteristic elements found are: Epidermal cells, 
stomata, crystals, fibres, parenchyma, cork cells. The 
epidermis cells are small, irregularly polygonal, thick- 
walled. The stomata are broadly oval, present in both 
epidermal surfaces, superficial. Strongly lignified fibres 
are present in large numbers, and vessel elements are 
more prominent in eucalyptus leaves than is usual in 
other leaves. Both rosette and rhomboid crystals are 
present in considerable quantities. Collenchyma cells 
are abundant, and occasionally cork cells are found. 
These are derived from peculiar lenticels, or wounds, at 
times found on the leaves. 

Chemistry. — The principal constituent of eucalyptus 
is the volatile oil. This is colorless or slightly yellow, 
boiling at 1 70 C, specific gravity 91 5 to 925, soluble in all 
proportions of alcohol or glacial acetic acid. It consists 
principally of eucalyptol (about 70 per cent.) ; eucalypten 
and eucalyptolen are also present. The leaves contain 
also gallic and tannic acid, eery lie alcohol, pyrocatechin, 
and a crystallizable acid fusing at 247 C. 

BUCHU. 

"The leaves of Barosma betulina (Thunberg), Bartling 
et Wendland, and Barosma crenulata (Linne), Hooker 
(nat. ord. Rutaceoz)" 

Both plants are slender shrubs, about 1 m. high, grow- 
ing in Southern Africa, in the districts of Clanwilliam 
and Worcester, north and northeast of Cape Town. 

Description. — The leaves of Barosma betulina are 10 to 
20 mm. long, obovate or almost round, cuneiform at the 
base, ending in a recurved point, margins serrate, with 
numerous oil-glands, one in each serration, which render 
the leaf pellucid punctate. The leaves are thicker than 
those of the other varieties. 

The leaves of Barosma crenulata are oblong, oval or 



204 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

oboval, sometimes elongated, obtused at the apex, from 
i to 2 cm. long and 7 to 10 mm. broad, smooth, with 
crenulate or serrate margins. At the base of each tooth 
is situated a large oil-gland. Other smaller glands are 
distributed throughout the leaf. 

These two official varieties yield the short buchu of 
commerce. Long buchu is obtained from Barosma 
serratifolia, whose leaves are thin, linear, lanceolate, 
about 3 cm. long, 5 mm. broad, tapering at both ends, 
margins obtusely serrate, with a gland at each point, apex 
truncate. All varieties are smooth, dark green in color, 
paler on the under surface. The odor is strong, pepper- 
mint-like. Taste, warm, aromatic, somewhat acrid. 

Long buchu is sometimes adulterated with the leaves of 
Empleurum serrulatum. These are longer and narrower 
than the genuine leaf, apex sharply pointed, margins 
coarsely serrate. Their odor is distinct, taste acrid. 

Histology. — The upper epidermis, destitute of stomata, 
is formed of a layer of tabular cells with cutinized, 
thickened outer walls. On the surface, these cells appear 
polygonal in outline, with straight sides. They are 
filled with hesperidin. This occurs in irregular yellow 
masses, amorphous, or in spherocrystals. Beneath the 
epidermis is a layer of flat cells, rich in mucilage, which 
swell up on contact with water and elongate in a direction 
perpendicular to the surface of the leaf. Next within is a 
layer of typical palisade cells covering the loose, irregular 
leaf parenchyma. The lower epidermis bears numerous 
stomata. Hesperidin crystals are also present here. 
The fibro- vascular bundles are small, but slightly ligni- 
fied, separated from each epidermis by a number of 
colorless, thick-walled cells. The oil-glands are large at 
the borders, occupying the entire space between the 
tipper and lower epidermis. They are enclosed in two 
layers of tabular, thin-walled parenchyma. 

Powder — When fresh the powder is a light green, with 



TEA. 205 

the characteristic odor of the drug. The most important 
microscopical character is found in the epidermal cells. 
The stomata are small, somewhat immersed, and numer- 
ous. They lie irregularly over the inferior surface. The 
epidermis cells are regularly polygonal, and many con- 
tain spherocrystals as well as irregular rhomboids of cal- 
cium oxalate. 

Chemistry. — Buchu contains a volatile oil, mucilage, 
resin, hesperidin, and, perhaps, rutin. The ash is rich 
in manganese. The volatile oil, 16 per cent., in short 
buchu, 66 per cent, in the long, consists of a stearopten, 
diosphenol, having a peppermint odor, and a liquid 
portion, which by fractionation yields dioscamphor, a 
substance of a thymol-like odor. The residue yields 
diosium. 

TEA. 

The leaA^es of Camellia tJiea, Link. (Thea Sinensis, 
Sims.) 

Tea is extensively cultivated throughout tropical 
countries, but the main source of supply is Asia. The 
leaf is bifacial, the epidermis of both sides being com- 
posed of small isodiametric cells. Some are developed 
into unicellular trichomes 500 to 700 microns in length. 
The palisade cells are frequently two-rowed, the lower 
row being much smaller than the first row. The general 
mesophyll is open and well provided with intercellular 
spaces. A number of very characteristic sclereids (stone 
cells) are present in the mesophyll. These are usually 
very irregularly contorted and twisted and very thick- 
walled (dignified). They are commonest in old leaves; 
in the young leaves being associated with the midrib. 
The stomata are broadly oval with narrow mouth. 

The characteristic stone cells and hairs of tea are suffi- 
ciently distinctive. Numerous admixtures with other 
leaves are used for falsification, but for the most part 
they may be excluded by reason of the absence of the 



206 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 




Fig. 55. — Tea Leaves. 
I, Portion of leaf showing the teeth and nerves. II, Cross-section 
young tea leaf: Ep, Epidermis of upper side; Ep 1 , of lower side; p, 
palisade cells; S, mesophyll; K, crystals; J, stone cell. Ill, Cross-sec- 
tion young tea leaf, showing in addition, t, hair. IV, Epidermis, upper 
side. V, Epidermis from under side, showing sp, stomata; p, paren- 
chyma. VI, VII, VIII, IX, Stone cells and parenchyma with, a. peculiar 
thickenings. X, Hairs and base of hair. XII, Fragment of gland 
(Vogl). fc fe 



CETRARIA. ICELAND MOSS. 207 

typical branched stone cells. Leaves with similar stone 
cells have been found, and these are frequently used. 
The Imperial tea of the Chinese is one of these, but in 
this the stone cells are more regularly oblong, or squarish. 
The leaves most often used are those of the horse-chest- 
nut, beech, poplar, apple, ash, elder, hawthorne, fire- weed, 
etc.* 

HERBS AND FLOWERS. 

The general structure of herbs and flowers does not 
admit of ready generalization. In the most typical forms 
the structures of stem, leaf, etc., conform to structures 
already described under the general headings of leaf and 
woody structures. In addition, however, herbs and 
flowers contain cells characteristic of the reproductive 
organs, pollen and seed structures. These structures 
introduce a far greater variety into the study of these 
powders, while at the same time offering more differential 
characters. 

CETRARIA. ICELAND MOSS. 

" Cetraria islandica (Linne), Acharius (class, Lichens)." 
U. S. 

This is a lichen growing plentifully throughout the 
temperate zone; in the North, on the plains; in the 
South, on the mountains. 

Description. — The membranous thallus is thin and 
cartilaginous, 5 to 10 cm. long, obscurely dichotomously 
divided, the edges of the lobes rolled up below with 
irregular ciliate margins above. The base is red, the 
under convex side of the lobes gray with white points, the 
upper side olive green or brown. The apothecia, seldom 
present in the dried drug, are 1 cm. broad, saucer- 
shaped, reddish-brown, situated at the ends of the lobes. 

* M. Brunotte : De la determination histologique des falsifications du 
the. These Ecole de Pharamcie de Nancy, 1883. 



208 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

The drug is odorless ; the taste bitter and mucilaginous. 

Histology. — There are three varieties of tissue. The 
outer cuticle, four to six cell-rows deep, of very small, 
thick- walled, difficultly distinguishable cells, with, how- 
ever, visible lumens, merges into the compact mass of 
colorless, filiform hyphae, which in turn give way to the 
dense branched interlocking cells of the central portion. 
In the latter tissue are numerous intercellular spaces con- 
taining round gonidia about i micron in diameter, 




Fig. 56. — Cetraria Islandica. 

filled with the green coloring-matter, thallochlor. In 
many places the colorless middle and outer layers of 
tissue entirely replace the central body, producing the 
white dots seen on the surface of the membrane. Here 
arc found crystals of cetrarin. The cilia of the margins 
arc the spermagonia. These are short, cylindrical, often 
forked, filled with rod-shaped antherozoids, 6 microns long. 
Chemistry. — Lichenin or lichen starch, 70 per cent. ; 
cctraric acid, 2 per cent. ; lichen-stearic acid, about 1 per 



CHONDRUS. IRISH MOSS. CARRAGHEEN. 200. 

cent., and i to 2 per cent, of ash, are the constitutents. 
Lichenin is colorless and tasteless, soluble in boiling 
water, forming a jelly on cooling. Cetraric acid, or 
cetrarin, is bitter, crystalline, almost insoluble in water, 
soluble in warm alcohol and ether; forming salts with 
bases soluble in water. Lichen-stearic acid is crystalline, 
insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether. 

CHONDRUS. IRISH MOSS. CARRAGHEEN. 

" Chondrus crispus, Stackhouse, and Gigartina mam- 
tllosa, J. Agardh (class Algas)." U. S. 

These closely related Algae are found on the rocks on 
the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, in Europe, from North 
Cape to Gibraltar; in America, along our eastern coast. 
They are collected in the spring from the Irish and New 
England coasts. 

Description. — Arising from a disk-like base, the frond 
of Chondrus crispus enlarges and flattens, then either 
divides dichotomously into numerous linear, slightly 
wedge-shaped lobes, or into fewer broad irregularly wavy 
marginate segments. Forms intermediate between these 
two are also common. The cystocarps are imbedded near 
the ends of the lobes; they project slightly, sometimes 
showing a small aperture. Gigartina mamillosa is 
similar but more irregular. The crystocarps, distributed 
along the grooved branches, are oval and raised on a 
short peduncle. 

Histology. — The two faces of the frond show each a 
comparatively broad layer of regularly arranged thick- 
walled cells with minute cavities. Within these are the 
larger cells of the body of the frond, growing more ir- 
regular toward the centre. The contents of these are 
granular. Zinc chlor-iodide colors the inner lamella 
of the cell-wall blue, the granular brown, and the mucilage 
slightly rose-red. The crystocarps consist of large 
numbers of round or oval well-filled spore sacs. 
14 



2IO PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Chemistry. — The principal constituent is mucilage. 
One part of this dissolved in thirty of hot water forms a 
jelly on cooling. It is precipitated by alcohol and lead 
acetate, is not colored blue by iodine, and in the pure 
state contains no nitrogen. Boiled with nitric acid it 
yields mucic acid. Some albuminoids are also present. 
Fifteen per cent, of ash, mostly sulphates, phosphate, and 
chlorides ; traces only of bromides and iodides. 

SANTONICA. LEVANT WORMSEED. 

The unexpanded flower heads of Artemisia pauciflora, 
Weber (nat. ord. Composites). 

Alexandria, Aleppo, or Levant wormseed is the product 
of a woody perennial shrub, about 6 cm. high, growing 
abundantly in Turkestan and the steppes of southern 
Siberia. 

Description. — The unexpanded flower heads are ovoid, 
elongated, about 3 mm. long and 1 mm. thick. When 
fresh they are yellowish-green, becoming brown with 
age. The involucre is formed of about twelve closely 
imbricated scales, the inferior ones very small, the supe- 
rior internally smooth, strongly keeled and bearing many 
small, shining, resinous glands on the outer surfaces. 
Their margins are colorless and membranous. The flower 
heads are separate, shining, and always smooth. This 
characteristic distinguishes the true from inferior varieties 
whose flower heads are rendered adherent by the presence 
of a fine down. (Planchon and Collin.) The involucre 
encloses upon a naked receptacle three to five unde- 
veloped florets, each divided at the summit into five 
triangular teeth. The odor is strongly aromatic, the 
taste bitter and camphoraceous. 

Histology. — The epidermal cells of the involucre scales 
arc small, angular, slightly thick-walled, axially elon- 
gated. They compose entirely the membranous scale 
margins, but in the thick central portion they enclose 



SANTONICA. LEVANT WORMSEED. 211 

first an arc of two rows of sclerenchymatic cells which 
form the keel, and within a body mass of chlorophyll 
containing parenchyma, through which runs a small 
central fibro-vascular bundle of concentric structure, the 
central vessel portion of spiral-annular ducts surrounded 
by smaller thinner wall liber and the whole enclosed in 
distinct endodermis. There is usually present a secre- 
tory canal smaller than the fibro-vascular bundle. On 
either side of the keel is a row of large, several celled 
oil glands. These are similar in structure to those of 
the LabiatcB. They are more numerous in the true than 
in other varieties of the drug. In the neighborhood of 
these glands are found organic crystals soluble in ether. 
Calcium oxalate needles are also present. The flower 
tissue, consisting principally of corolla, bears many 
similar glands situated in depressions in the lobe. Within 
the thick-walled epidermis of the corolla lobe are two 
rows of palisade cells. Within run several minute fibro- 
vascular bundles. 

Powder. — The elements of the powder are numerous, 
the most frequent being three-sided, almost globular 
pollen grains. Glands from the bracts and floral leaves 
are frequent. Long, irregular, pointed stone cells from 
the keels of the involucre scales, fibres, annular ducts, 
and parenchyma from the fibro-vascular bundles, por- 
tions of pitted walled epidermis with many stomata and 
irregular cubical organic crystals make up the rest of 
the powder. 

Chemistry. — The active principle of Santonica is san- 
tonin, 1.5 to 2 per cent., in colorless prismatic crystals, 
turning yellow in the light. They are slightly bitter, 
almost insoluble in water, dissolve in alcohol and ether, 
and form crystallizable salt with alkalies. Three per 
cent, of a thin, yellow, unpleasant smelling volatile oil, 
boiling at i7o°F., resin, etc., are also present. 



212 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

CUSSO. KOUSSO. 

"The female inflorescence of Hagenia Abyssinica 
(Bruce), Guieli (nat. ord. Rosacea). " 

This tree, growing on the plateaus of Abyssinia, attains 
a height of 20 m. It flowers in the autumn. The female 
panicles are collected and rolled into bundles, 30 to 40 cm. 
long and 5 cm. thick. It enters commerce through the 
ports of Aden, Bombay, and Leghorn. 

Description. — -The inflorescence is in unisexual axillary 
panicles, about 30 cm. long. The flowers are small, 
5 to 10 mm. broad, supported on short pedicles. The 
branches of the rachis divide dichotomously, bending 
sharply at each fork. A sheathing bract subtends the 
base of each branch, and two oboval bracts accompany 
each flower. All parts are densely hairy and glandular. 
The short calyx tube of the female flower is surmounted 
by two whorls of four or five calyx lobes ; the outer, 5 
to 6 mm. long, membranous, with anastomosing veins; 
the inner, smaller, about as broad as long. The bracts 
and calyx are reddish or purple. The petals, usually 
wanting in the dried drug, are small, linear, lanceolate, 
alternating with the sepals. The stamens, about twenty 
in number, are inserted on the calyx tube ; each bears a 
sterile anther on a short filament. Carpels two, one 
often undeveloped, free, within the calyx tube, bearing 
on lengthened styles two truncate stymes. 

In the male flower the andrcecium is well-developed, 
the long filaments bearing two-celled anthers. The 
gynaecium is abortive. The bracts and calyx are green, 
with a slight reddish tint. The odor is pleasant, tea- 
like. Taste, at first mucilaginous, then acrid, bitter, 
and astringent. 

Histology. — The bracts and calyx lobes bear an epi- 
dermis of polygonal cells, somewhat thick-walled on the 
bracts, thinner-walled, with undulating outlines on the 



cusso. kousso. 213 

calyx lobes. Stomata and trichomes are numerous. 
The latter are of two kinds, the one simple, pointed, 
single-celled, thick-walled, on the leaves, large; on the 
calyx smaller. The other variety is short, bearing 
glands, consisting of small many-celled or large single- 
celled heads, supported on short pedicles. On the bracts, 
a layer of palisade cells lies beneath the epidermis. The 
mesophyll consists of star-shaped cells, with large inter- 
cellular spaces. The peduncle bears an epidermis of 
finely striated cells. The elongated parenchymatic cells 
within, enclose agglomerated crystals of calcium oxalate. 
A few tracheids are also present. The tissue of the 
anthers is recognized by the regularity of the arrange- 
ment of the cells and the reticulate thickenings of the 
walls. The surface of the stigma is papillous. 

Powder. — The elements of the powder are numer- 
ous; the most predominant being the trichomes, which 
vary greatly in size. Spiral and pitted vessels from the 
peduncle are frequent. The characteristic, usually four- 
celled, glands are less often met with. For the rest, 
stone cells from the peduncle, calcium oxalate crystals 
from the leaf parenchyma, and epidermal tissue, are of 
little importance. Pollen grains, if present in large 
numbers, indicate the admixture of male flowers ; their 
occasional occurrence, however, does not indicate fraud. 

Chemistry. — Cusso contains a bitter resin, a trace of 
volatile oil, 24 per cent, of tannin, traces of valerianic 
and acetic acids, and koussine, which Liechsenring 
claims to consist of protokosine and koussotoxine, the 
former crystalline and inactive, the latter amorphous, 
yellow, fusing at 8o°, soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloro- 
form, insoluble in water. Whether koussotoxine or the 
bitter resin is the active principle is not yet finally deter- 
mined. * 



214 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

PYRETHRI FLORES. INSECT FLOWERS. 

The flowers of several species of Chrysanthemum, nat. 
ord. Composites. 

The product of C. cineraria folium, Visiani, growing 
both wild and under cultivation in the mountains of the 
eastern shores of the Adriatic, and cultivated in Cali- 
fornia, is called from its original source Dalmatian insect 
flowers. C. roseum, Web. and Mohr, and C. carneum, 
Weber, growing in the Caucasus Mountains and in 
northern Persia, yield the inferior Persian or Caucasian 
insect flowers. 

Description. — The flower heads of all three species 
are hemispherical, from 12 to 20 mm. in diameter with 
a densely imbricate involucre, naked receptacle, ligulate 
pistillate ray, tubular perfect disk florets, ribbed fruit, 
toothed pappus. 

The bracts of the Dalmatian flowers bear slight whitish 
scarious margins. There are only about 15 ray flowers 
present, and the achenes are five ribbed. The pappus 
is about 1 mm. long. 

The Persian flowers bear brown bordered bracts, 20 
to 30 rose-red ray florets, and 10 ribbed achenes. The 
pappus is short, about 0.5 mm. Of the two Persian 
varieties the rarer product of C. carneum may be 
distinguished from C. roseum by the paler ray florets, 
the less pronounced colored bract borders, and by the 
extending of the anthers outside the corolla tube of the 
disk florets. The closed flower heads are more valuable 
than the open ones, as the development of the flower 
weakens its efficacy as an insecticide. 

Histology. — The upper portion of the stem, which is 
included with the flowers, bears an epidermis of irregular 
polygonal cells with numerous stomat% hairs, and 
glands. The hairs are T-shaped, the long double-pointed 
horizontal cell often broken off, being supported on a 



PYRETHRI FLORES. INSECT FLOWERS. 



215 



two- or three-celled pedicle. The glands are elliptical, 
about six-celled, three rows of two cells each superim- 
posed. This portion of the flower is rich in vascular 
elements, spiral annular ducts being numerous. The 
disk is composed of polygonal, thick- walled, much pitted 




Fig. 57. — Pyrethri Flores. 
Insect powder: sc, Stone cells; ep, epidermis; h, hairs; ept, epi- 
dermis with papillee; St, St', tissue of flowers; g, vessel; pa, paren- 
chyma; po, pollen grains; P, cells of pappus; D, glands; 5, portion 
of flower; ep', epidermis of flower; iep, cells of interior of flower and 
stems ; Fr, stone cells of fruit ; rh, rhomboid crystals (Hanausek) . 

sclerenchyma. Bracts bearing thick- walled epidermis 
over keel, thinner toward margins and on inner surface, 
stomata numerous. Within through a loose parenchyma 
runs a single nbro-vascular bundle with a dense layer of 
bast fibers, extending into the margins. The ligulas of 



2l6 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

the ray flowers bear an epidermis papillose above, of 
finely striated polygonal cells below. Glands are found 
among the striated cells on the lower portion of the 
ligula; within are several small fibro-vascular bundles, 
and an occasional oil or resin duct. The elongated disk 
florets, their lower portion (Fruchknoten) enclosed in an 
entire pappus, densely studded with resin glands below 
and with numerous crystals of calcium in their elongated, 
slightly thickened cells, possess a five-toothed corolla of 
structure similar to that of the rays, but without papillae. 
Resin glands and calcium oxalate crystals are frequent. 
The united anthers are made up of regular polygonal some- 
what thick- walled tissue, containing a yellow granular 
matter. The peculiar thickening of these cell walls is 
quite characteristic. The round, single-celled pollen 
grains, 28 microns in diameter, show three distinct equi- 
distant dilations and a surface covered with conical 
papillae. 

The stigma is forked and bears cylindrical papillae. 
The ovary is five-ribbed (in C. roseum ten), with a 
minute fibro-vascular bundle and two or more resin 
ducts in each, and, in the outer portion, crystals of 
calcium oxalate. 

Powder. — The powder, if unadulterated with cur- 
cuma, has a grayish-yellow color. That from the Per- 
sian flowers is lighter than that from the Dalmatian. 
Differential characters are difficult to find. The T- 
shaped hairs seldom occur with the horizontal cell 
attached. As they are more numerous on the stem and 
leaves of the plant than on the flower, their frequent 
appearance would indicate adulteration, which may be 
confirmed by the presence of much fibro-vascular tissue 
and a scarcity of pollen grains. The cell walls of the 
anthers, at least of the Persian flowers, show peculiar 
papillous thickenings, which arc characteristic. The 
papillae on the ligules of the ray flowers of C. roseum 



LAVENDER. 217 

are more pronounced than in the Dalmatian variety. 
The calcium oxalate crystals differ also. Those of the 
former are imperfect small agglomerations, whereas those 
of the latter are large, quite perfect single or twin crystals. 

Adulteration with Hungarian or Russian daisy may with 
difficulty be detected by the presence of the trichomes 
peculiar to the latter. These are long, three to ten- 
celled, with a much inflated terminal cell. Other adul- 
terants ,are numerous, among them the flowers of C. 
Parthenium, C. inodorum, C . corybosum, Leucanthemum cor- 
onarium, Anthemis arvenis, A. Cotula, A. tinctoria and A. 
nobilis, Inula pulicaria, Tanacetum vulgare, Matricaria, 
Calendula, are difficult to detect. Curcuma, sawdust, 
and mustard are easily recognized, and chrome yellow, 
barium chromate, and ochre are discovered in the ash, 
which should not exceed 7 per cent. 

Chemistry. — The active insect-killing constituent has 
not been determined. Volatile oil, resin, cholesterin, 
a paraffin, a glycoside, an alkaloid, and three acids, one 
volatile, have been found. 

LAVENDER. 

The unexpanded flower of Lavandula vera, De C. (nat. 
ord. Labiates), a plant of southern Europe; now exten- 
sively cultivated. 

Description. — Bracts rhombic-ovate, pointed, brown- 
ish and glandular; calyx tubular, about 5 mm. long, 
hairy and glandular, blue-gray, thirteen-ribbed, five- 
toothed; the upper tooth is more developed, darker 
colored. The corolla is violet-blue, dries often to a 
brownish color; about 10 mm. long, on the outside 
hairy and glandular; two-lipped, the upper lip has two 
lobes, the lower lip is smaller and has three lobes ; stamens 
four, didynamous, short, inserted on the corolla tube, not 
extending out of the corolla tube. The corolla is tra- 
versed by numerous vascular bundles, and is covered with 



2l8 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



fine branching hairs, between which there are also glands. 
Odor fragrant ; taste bitter, somewhat camphoraceous. 
Constituents. — About 2 or 3 per cent, of volatile oil. 




Fig. 58. — Hairs from Lavender. 



CANNABIS INDICA. INDIAN HEMP. 

Cannabis indica is the flowering tops of the female 
plant of Cannabis saliva, L., growing in the East Indies. 
This is a plant usually some eight to ten feet in height, 
indigenous to parts of Persia and Asia, and widely culti- 
vated in the Eastern countries. 

Description. The drug usually appears in the shops in 
flat, compressed masses of a dull greenish color. The 
tops vary in size from 5 to 30 cm., and consist of straight 
stems, with ascending branches, longitudinally furrowed 
and bearing numerous small curved hairs and occasional 



CANNABIS INDICA. INDIAN HEMP. 



219 



glands. The former are enlarged at the base and con- 
tain cystoliths. The leaves are alternate, the lower are 
digitate and consist of three or five linear-lanceolate 
leaflets with distinct serrated margins; the upper are 
simple. The pistillate flowers consist of a single ovary 
surrounded by a perianth and supported by an ovate 
bract beyond which two long brown stigmas protrude. 
The fruit is ovoid, slightly reticulated and contains a 




Fig. 59. — Leap of Cannabis Indica. 
p, Mesophyll; c, calcium carbonate crystals; sch, loose paren- 
chyma; oe, oil glands, with 5, basal cells; cu, covering of gland; sp, 
stomata; o, upper surface; u, under surface; c, c, cystoliths; hairs. 



single, oily seed. Both bracts and leaves bear numerous 
hairs and stalked glands, the latter secreting a viscid 
resin. The odor is strong, but taste is almost absent. 
Histology. — The upper surface of the leaf shows flat, 
polygonal cells, the lower surface epidermis cells with 
numerous stomata. Both surfaces are covered with 
spine-like hairs, set between elevations of the epider- 
mis. They contain a cystolith in a vesicular space 
and are longer at the lower surface. Small gland- 



2 20 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

ular hairs with one-celled stalk and two to four-celled 
heads and large oil and resin glands are very abundant. 
On section, the palisade tissue is twice as thick as the 
spongy tissue; both are rich in calcium oxalate. A 
horseshoe-shaped woody pith is contained in the midrib, 
consisting of radially arranged vascular channels. The 
perianth carries glands and long, thin- walled hairs. 




Fig. 60. — Cannabis Indica. 

oed, Oil glands; tr, hairs; d, young gland; a, b, c, d, e^f, g, developing 

gland; p, protoplasm in trichome; k, crystals,. 

Powder. — This is a dirty, brownish-green, and when 
moistened and pressed is sticky. It contains a large 
number of histological elements, inasmuch as stem, leaf, 
flower, and seed constituents enter into the powder. 
The main histological features arc hairs, glands, pollen 
grains, crystals, resin, parenchyma, epidermis, fibres, 
vessels, and stone cells from the seed. The hairs alone 
are diagnostic of the powder. There are two or three 



CANNABIS INDICA. INDIAN HEMP. 



221 



types which are prominent, though the hairs make a 
series of almost every grade from the long, thin falciform 
to the short, stout thorn-like hair: (i) Long, thin, ir- 
regular, unicellular, simple, glandular hairs, with spiny 




Fig. 6i. — Powdered Cannabis Indica. 
G. Glands; H, hairs; Gl H, glandular hairs; Epi, epidermis; V, 
vessels; ST, stone cell; Sto, stomata; CYS, crystal sac; PI, pollen 
grains; E, epidermis cells; C, crystals. 



or wart-like irregular markings found at their apices; 
these come from the under leaf surfaces; (2) broad, 
multicellular, simple, glandular hairs with a sub-spherical 
multicellular gland (usually 8 cells) at the apex; these 
are numerous and come from the under side of the leaf, 



222 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

the upper part of stem, and the flower axis; (3) shorter, 
broad, falciform hairs, with rounded mass-like collec- 
tions of calcium carbonate at the base of the hair ; these 
are the cystoliths, and occur on the upper leaf surface. 
The glands proper are rounded and multicellular, sac- 
like in general shape, and form a conspicuous feature in 
a good powder. In size they range from 20 to 60 microns. 
They may be stalked or sessile. Pollen grains are few 
and may readily be overlooked. They are spherical and 
regularly marked. Crystals of calcium oxalate of the 
rosette-shaped variety are also few and inconspicuous. 
These average about 20 microns in diameter. The 
parenchyma is thin- walled and lax, and the cells often 
appressed and gummed together by the resin masses 
which show as brown and blackish bodies throughout 
the powder. These irregular masses form a very con- 
spicuous part of the powder. The resin masses and 
hairs are sufficient for making a diagnosis of the powder. 

Epidermal cells with stomata are occasionally found. 
The fibres and vessel elements vary widely in quantity. 
In some powders fibres are common, and also spiral, 
annular, and reticulated ducts ; in others these elements 
are fewer. This depends upon the amount and the de- 
velopment of the stem, which may be included. The 
seeds show stone cells and small, irregular, twisted, and 
contorted epidermal cells. These are diagnostic of them- 
selves. Attached to these seed elements are cells con- 
taining small masses of starch grains and sometimes 
masses of aleurone grains. 

Chemistry. — Indian hemp contains about 20 per cent, 
resin. A brown, alcoholic extract obtained from this is 
known as cannabin, and from this oxycannabin has been 
isolated. The alkaloid cannabinine also occurs. 



FRUITS. 

Fruits cannot be said to have any particular type of 
structure. In the main, the official fruits consist of 
parenchyma tic tissues arranged in different ways, ac- 
cording to the individual plant under consideration. In 
addition to this, some vascular elements may be en- 
countered and also some sclerotic cells. 

CARYOPHYLLUS. CLOVES. 

Caryophyllus, cloves, is the unexpanded flowers of 
Eugenia aromatica {Eugenia caryophyllata, Thunb.), a 
handsome and large evergreen, cultivated in the islands 
of the Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Penang, in southern India, 
Africa, the West Indies, South America, and in other 
tropical regions. 

The cloves of commerce come in large part from the 
east coast of Africa, and the chief mart is Rotterdam. 

Wild trees contribute but a small proportion of the 
entire yield. The cloves are gathered from trees which 
are from six to twelve years old, and after the trees are 
twenty years old they do not bear well. One tree fre- 
quently yields from two to four kilos of fruit (Fluckiger) . 
The cloves are gathered just before the corolla of the 
flower falls off, either by hand or the trees are beaten with 
sticks and the falling cloves collected on spread-out 
cloths. 

After drying, the clove becomes characteristically 
dark-brown and has its own peculiar aroma. Its fracture 
is short and sharp to waxy. 

Histology. — A section of the solid, stem-like lower por- 
tion of the clove, technically the hypnanthium, shows the 
disposition of the tissues as follows: An outer dark- 

223 



224 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

brown zone surrounds a lighter brown central zone. 
Sections in the upper portion, just beneath the spreading 
of the calyx lobes, cut into the ovary with its two carpels 
and numerous ovules (about twenty) arranged on a cen- 
tral placenta. The minute anatomy of the cross-section 
shows greatly thickened outside epidermic cells, 13 to 15 
microns in diameter ; as Tschirch has pointed out, this is 




Fig. 62. — Clove. 
Cross-section of base of clove: e, Epidermis; p\ parenchyma with 
oil canals; (') — p 2 , parenchyma with interspersed vessel bundles; p 3 , 
loose parenchyma; c, columella; g, vessels; i, oil cells (Wiesner). 

not strongly cutinized. Beneath this single epidermal 
row there are numerous thin-walled parenchyma tic cells. 
These are radially elongated, and surround numerous 
schizogenous oil glands, which are arranged in from two to 
three rows. The parenchymatic cells measure from 15 
to 30 microns. The oil glands are oval elliptical, sur- 
rounded by two or three rows of flattened secreting cells, 
and measure from 170 to 220 microns in the radial diam- 



CARYOPHYLLUS. CLOVES. 225 

eter and 30 to 125 microns tangentially. Those nearer the 
epidermis are usually smaller. The parenchyma tic tissue 
lying within the area of the oil glands is larger, the cell 
walls are more pronounced, and collenchymatic thickening 
is more common, though it is not absent, for the outer 
parenchyma tic rows. Fibro- vascular bundles are found 
here and the tissues become lax, and large intercellular 
spaces are prominent. The bundles are delicate, more 
or less incomplete, contain small vessels and fibres, and 
are, in general, of the open collateral type; bi-collateral, 
and bundles concentric to a central sieve portion and 
peripheral to an outer sieve portion, are described by 
Tschirch and Oesterle. Bast fibres are found on the 
outer portions of the bundle. They average 40 to 50 
microns in diameter. Closely surrounding the bast fibres, 
usually lying between them and the vessels, small crystal 
cells are closely clustered. A well-marked columella is 
found in the centre of the section. It is connected with 
the outer portions by the loose, parenchymatic tissue with 
large intercellular spaces. The columella contains in- 
complete fibro- vascular bundles. The vessels and fibres 
are usually very delicate. Numerous small crystals are 
here present. Sections of the calyx lobes show numerous 
oil cells, with typical leaf structures. 

If sections of the hypnanthium, after previous soaking 
in water, are placed in a low flat dish in alcohol, or a 
micro-slide-cell, crystalline needles of caryophyllin de- 
velop. Similar sections placed in official potash solution, 
and then soaked in water in a cell, show in from one to 
two hours, the development of fine crystal needles of 
eugenol potassium, C 6 H 3 (C 3 H 5 )OCH 3 OK. These are par- 
ticularly abundant in the oil reservoirs. 

Powder. — The powder of cloves is composed of a great 

many diverse elements, and its complete study is attended 

with much patient effort. The powder is dark-brown. 

It contains parenchymatic tissues, collenchyma, bast 

15 



226 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



fibres, wood fibres, spiral and annular ducts, tracheids, 
crystals, epidermis of calyx lobes with stomata, tissue 
from corolla, pollen grains, tissues of the seed, and if 




Fig. 63. — Cloves in Powder. 
Epi.C, Epidermis of calyx showing oil glands beneath; Epi.F, 
epidermis of corolla; E, epidermis of outer side of calyx teeth, with 
stomata; CAL, cross-section of calyx (Epi.C), outer cuticularized wall 
and collenchymatic tissue; P, parenchyma of body of cloves with 
fibres, V vessels, and C crystals; PAR, parenchyma of fruit body in 
cross-section, to right,- and longitudinal section, to left, the latter 
showing pitted parenchyma; ST, stone cells from the stem of the 
cloves; Str, sclereids from the wall of the fruit; O, pollen grains; Fibr, 
fibres from the clove stem; vessel from the clove stem; C.T, pitted 
parenchyma from cotyledons; S, starch grains from seed. 



much stem has been included, the characteristic sclereids 

and bast fibres of this part of the fruit are in evidence. 

Bast fibres are conspicuous features in the powder; 

when unbroken, they measure from 300 to 400 microns 



CARYOPHYLLUS. CLOVES. 227 

long and from 40 to 50 microns in diameter. The degree 
of ligniflcation varies widely. 

The pollen grains are characteristic. They are tetrahe- 
dral, and may be empty or may contain brownish, oil- 
stained, protoplasmic contents. They measure about 15 
microns to a side. 

The vessels are very delicate, and rarely measure more 
than 4 to 10 to 15 microns in diameter. They have spiral 
or annular markings, and may be accompanied by 
delicate tracheids, measuring about the same in "diameter. 

Epidermis cells with stomata do not call for special 
mention, as these latter are not of any diagnostic signifi- 
cance. The crystals are small and may readily be over- 
looked. They measure from 8 to 16 microns. Tissues 
derived from the petals may be readily recognized by 
the regular irregularity so characteristic of this type of 
tissue. In the seed, pitted parenchymatic cells measur- 
ing 50 to 70 microns are found. These contain irregular 
shaped starch grains. These are usually simple grains, 
but are often much compressed and elongated. Some of 
the larger grains measure from 30 to 35 microns, while 
the smaller ones average 5 to 7 microns. 

If the powder contains much tissue from the stem the 
numerous isodiametric sclereids (100 to 130 microns) are 
found, though similar sclereids are also present to some 
extent in the walls of the fruit. Larger pitted vessels also 
are indicative of admixture with stem, and the irregular 
bast fibres are characteristic. Many of these have knob- 
like ends, and frequently average, according to the 
measurements of Tschirch and Oesterle, 8 to 26 microns 
in diameter. In addition to the rosette crystals, cubical 
crystals 7X7 microns may be found. 

A further chemical reaction is noteworthy in addition 
to those already described. Solutions of chloride of 
iron stain most of the tissues dark-blue to black, due, it is 
said, to the saturation of such tissues with eugenol. 



2 28 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

Chemistry. — Cloves contain an ethereal oil, consisting 
of hydrocarbon and eugenol ; some eugenin, caryophyllin, 
and vegetable mucus. 

CUBEBA. CUBEBS. 

Cubebs is the unripe fruit of Piper cubeba, a plant now 
extensively cultivated in the Eastern countries, notably 
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Antilles; though origi- 
nally it was indigenous to these places and even now is 
found there growing wild. It is widely cultivated about 
the coffee plantations, growing on or about the trees 
which are planted in these places to protect the coffee 
plants. The fruit is collected before ripening and is 
handled mainly by the Chinese. 

Description. — The cubebs of the market are spherical, 
dark-brown, grayish-brown and black, and measure 
about one-fifth of an inch in diameter (5 mm.). They 
are usually provided with stems about the same length as 
the fruit or somewhat longer. The surface is hard and 
irregularly netted or reticulated. At the summit there 
are the small, lighter colored, pointed remnants of the 
pistil. The base is contracted to meet the remnant of the 
stalk, which is anatomically continuous with the outer 
layers of the pericarp. 

Histology. — With a lens the cross-section shows a 
brownish outer pericarp making up about one-third of the 
radius of the fruit. The large perisperm makes up the 
rest of the section. The endosperm is small, and is lo- 
cated at the upper end of the seed, just beneath the rem- 
nant of the pistil, and contains the embryo. 

Under higher magnification the pericarp is seen to be 
made up of at least three more or less distinct zones. 
The epidermis consists of regular quadratic cells, with 
thickened outer walls, resting directly upon a layer of 
stone cells, which may be in one or two rows. This 
layer of stone cells may be broken here and there. The 



CUBEBA. CUBEBS. 



229 



000^ 




Fig. 64. — Cubebs, Cross-section of Fruit. 
E, Epidermis; St, stone cells, beneath epidermis, hypodermis and 
at base of outer portion of the fruit; PAR, parenchymatic tissue filled 
with starch, and oil cells; OG, oil glands; SC, the seed coat inside of 
which is the seed, with oil cells and starch grains. 



230 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

walls are markedly thickened and many pored. The 
parenchyma of the pericarp makes up the greater mass 
of this structure ; it is very irregular, thin- walled, and the 
cells inclined to be elongated parallel to the surface of 
the fruit. These cells contain starch and have a number 
of large oil glands, which have distinctly suberized walls. 
Oil, fat, and crystals of cubebin may also be found in this 
parenchyma. 

The fibro-vascular bundles run up in the stem and 
spread out in this parenchymatic layer. They soon 
become fragmentary, however. The inner zone of the 
pericarp is made up of very large stone cells, cells from 
five to ten times the size of the stone cells lying just be- 
neath the epidermis. These are usually arranged with 
their longest axis at right angles to the thin seed coat, 
which is just beneath. This seed coat consists of one 
to two layers of compressed cells, the outer row of which 
may have a slightly thickened wall. The seed coat cells 
are dark-brown. Inside of the seed coat the cells of the 
perisperm are large, thin -walled, starch-filled, paren- 
chymatic cells. The starch grains are very small and 
compound. The perisperm also contains large oil cells. 
The starch grains develop as the fruit grows older. 
Hence specimens according to their age will contain more 
or less starch. The unripe seed should contain no well- 
formed grains. Needle-like crystals, occurring in groups, 
are often observed both in the pericarp and in the peri- 
sperm. By some writers these are termed crystals of 
cubebin. Meyer believes them to be either fatty crystals 
or a terpene hydrate. 

Powder. — Powdered cubeb (No. 50) is grayish-brown 
in color. The most prominent features of the powder 
are stone cells, oil globules, starch grains in the ripe fruit, 
crystalline masses, and parenchyma. Less conspicuous 
are epidermal structures and fibro-vascular elements. 

The stone cells present a variety of shapes and sizes. 



CUBEBA. CUBEBS. 



231 



Those of the inner row, i. e., just outside of the seed coat, 
are the largest. These are usually oblong, sometimes 
three times as long as broad, and measure in the longest 
diameter from 50 to 7 5 microns. The smaller stone cells of 
the hypo dermis average 25 to 35 microns. All of the 




Fig. 65. — Cubebs in Powder. 
Ep, Epidermis from upper surface; St. stone cells of the pericarp; 
P, parenchyma of pericarp with stone cells; Tr, tr ache id-like stone 
cells of the stems; V and Sv, vessel of pericarp and of the stem; O, 
parenchyma with oil cells and oil globules; Pr, parenchyma of the 
seed; C, crystal-like bodies of fat or cubebin. 

stone cells are richly pored and many are brownish in 
color. The oil globules are very numerous throughout the 
entire powder. They are usually lying free, though 
occasionally not disturbed from the glands, which 
average 75 to 120 microns in diameter. 

The starch grains are found, well formed, only in the 



232 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

ripe fruit. They are very minute, averaging 1 to 5 
microns, and are simple and compound in twos, threes, 
and fours. The crystal masses are very distinctive ; they 
vary greatly in size and are sometimes very common in 
the powder, at other times not. Specimens mounted 
in glycerine jelly will not be preserved, if the jelly in 
preparation is heated above 125 C. The parenchyma 
is usually thin-walled and very irregular ; in the region of 
the pericarp many of the cells are pitted and the walls are 
thicker, the cells being somewhat smaller, 30 to 40 microns. 
The cells of the endosperm are thinner- walled, average 
about 40 microns, and are not pored. Epidermal struc- 
tures are distinctive though not prominent. The thickened 
walls, which are finely striated, are readily recognized. 

The fibro-vascular elements are not numerous, yet 
almost always present in any small field. Spiral vessels, 
tracheids, tracheid-like stone cells, and short fibres are 
constant and some sieve tube elements may be found. 
The greater the quantity of stems, the more vascular and 
fibrous elements are found. 

Chemistry. — Fresh cubebs contain about 10 to 16 per 
cent, of ethereal oil, which is contained for the most part 
in the glands. This oil consists in the main of various 
terpenes, with the general formula C 15 H 24 . Cubebin, 
C 10 H 10 O 3 , is found in amounts varying from 1 to 2.5 or 3 
per cent. It is a slightly bitter, colorless, and odorless 
crystalline body, colored red by concentrated sulphuric 
acid. It crystallizes in white needles, which have a 
melting-point about 125 C. Cubebin is usually mixed 
with the resin, which is found in percentages of about 5 
to 7. There is, further, about 8 per cent, of gum and 1 per 
cent, of fatty oil. 

PIPER. PEPPER. 

The unripe fruit of Piper nigrum, Linnc (nat. ord. 
J 'iperaceoe) , a native of India and Cochin-China, culti- 
vated in the East Indies. 



PIPER. 



PEPPER. 



233 



Description. — Globular, diameter 4 mm., reticulately 
wrinkled, brownish-black or grayish-black, internally 
lighter, hollow, with an undeveloped embryo; odor 
aromatic ; taste pungent ly spicy. 

Histology. — The fruit shows on cross-section a soft, 




Fig. 66. — Piper. 
Cross -section of outer portion of black pepper: ep, Epidermis; sc, 
outer layer of stone cells; oe, oil glands in parenchyma, s; st, inner 
layer of stone cells; p, pigment layer; sp, aleurone grains in paren- 
chyma; gfb, fibro- vascular bundles; c, starch-filled parenchyma of 
perisperm (Tschirch). 



yellowish outer skin, and beneath this a thick, compact 
layer of large, yellow, thick- walled porous stone cells, 
mostly radially arranged, which contain in their small 
cavities small lumps of dark-brown resin. The middle 
layer of the fruit consists of soft tangentially arranged 



234 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

parenchyma, which contains many aggregations of starch 
grains and oil drops. 

By the drying of this loose middle layer the berries 
acquire the marked wrinkling of their surfaces. The 
tissue next within contains soft prosenchyma and small 
spiral vessels, and within this, starch-free parenchyma 
with large oil cells. The seed coat consists of a row of 
small, yellow cells, on the inner walls of which there is 
deposited a thickened porous layer; frequently there 
are therein crystal rosettes of calcium oxalate. The 
following dark brown-red thick tissue separates the layer 
from the seed albumen, between which angular radially- 
arranged cells, numerous oil spaces are disseminated. 
The first are filled with trophoplasts in which there are 
numerous small, angular starch grains, with few thick 
nuclei. Other ceils contain yellow grains of piperin; 
the endosperm contains aleurone grains. 

CONIUM. HEMLOCK. 

" The full-grown fruit of Conium macitlatum, Linne 
(nat. ord. Umbelliferce), gathered while yet green." 
U. S. 

Though the fruit alone is official, we shall here con- 
sider the leaves also. 

The biennial root of the conium plant bears an annual 
stem, often over 2 m. high, round grooved, hollow, and 
marked below with brownish-red spots. The plant 
grows in waste places throughout the old world. It has 
been naturalized in America. 'The plant grown in a hot, 
dry climate is superior. 

Description. — The leaves are twice or thrice pinnat- 
ifid compound, four to eight-paired, in general out- 
line triangular, the lower ones often 40 cm. long, with 
sheathing petioles, the upper smaller, almost sessile, and 
less compound. The leaflets are deeply cleft, promi- 
nently veined, the terminal leaflet larger, strongly 



CONIUM. HEMLOCK. 235 

toothed. Color, when dry, grayish-green. Odor dis- 
agreeable (mousey). Taste salty, bitter, and acrid. 

The fruit is a cremocarp, about 3 mm. long, broadly 
ovate, laterally compressed, the mericarps usually sepa- 
rate, slightly curved, dorsally compressed, bearing five 
slightly wavy ridges, intermediate spaces wrinkled, 
faces grooved, oil tubes absent. Color gray or green, 
odor and taste faint. The disagreeable mousey odor is 
developed by trituration. 

Histology. — The Leaf. — A single layer of smooth polyg- 




FlG. 67. — CONIUM. 

Cross-section of mericarp of Conium: a, Seed portion; e, epi- 
dermis; m, fruit scale; t, t', conine layer containing alkaloid; v, vas- 
cular bundle; o, outer surface of pericarp; c, central surface; b, bundle 
in albumen (Fliickiger) . 

onal cells forms the epidermis. The outer walls of these 
epidermal cells are thickened. A single row of palisade 
cells is found. Beneath these, and extending to the 
under epidermis, is the usual loose round-celled leaf 
parenchyma. The veins each contain a single fibro- 
vascular bundle, accompanied by a few resin ducts, 
and protected by the collenchymatic tissue, to which the 



236 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

prominence of the vein is due. Stomata are numerous, 
particularly on the lower surface. Many cells of the 
epidermis contain groups of crystals, said to be hesperi- 
din. 

The Fruit. — The epidermis of the mericarp is com- 
posed of irregularly thickened and finely striated cells, 
with occasional stomata. Within this layer lies the meso- 
phyll of thin- walled, compressed polygonal cells, which 
in the unripe fruit contain starch and chlorophyll. In 
each rib is a fibro-vascular bundle. These consist of a 
central bast bundle, with, on either side, a smaller sieve 
bundle, and on the inner side of the whole a group of 
vessels. The bast fibres are of the usual type. The ves- 
sels are mostly spirally marked. Near each bundle, on 
the outer side, lies a small resin duct. Surrounding the 
seed are two very characteristic cell-layers, the outer of 
large tangentially elongated cells with dark-colored walls, 
much thickened on the inner and lateral faces. The 
layer within, the endocarp, is formed of cubical or slightly 
radially elongated cells whose brown walls are somewhat 
thickened on the inner and outer faces, while remaining 
quite thin on the sides. It is this endocarp which con- 
tains the active principle of the drug. Within the en- 
docarp is a seed-coat of small, thick- walled cells surround- 
ing the polygonal cells of the albumen which are filled 
with aleurone grains and fat. The aleurone grains are 
mostly 5 to 6 microns in breadth. They often contain 
one or more round or irregularly swollen masses or single 
or agglomerated crystals of calcium oxalate. (Tschirch 
and Oesterle.) 

The absence of oil tubes serves to distinguish this fruit 
from all others of the Umbelliferce. 

Chemistry. — The fruit contains four alkaloids, — conine, 
methyl conine, conhydrine, and pseudoconine, — a little 
volatile oil of a conium-like odor, fat, and 6 per cent, of 
ash. 



FCENICULUM. FENNEL. 237 

The herb contains traces of the alkaloids, a little 
volatile oil, and about 12.8 per cent, of ash. 

Conine is a volatile, non-oxygenated, highly poisonous 
alkaloid of a strong, disagreeable odor and an acrid and 
bitter taste. It is an oily liquid, specific gravity 0.88, 
boiling at i67°C, soluble in alcohol, ether, and 90 parts of 
cold water. It fumes in contact with hydrochloric acid 
and forms soluble crystalline salts with this and other 
acids. Methylconine is a similar oily liquid, boiling 
between i6c) C. and i8o°C. Conhydrine, 0.006 per cent, 
present in the herb, crystallizes in colorless, pearly plates 
which sublime below ioo°C, and treated with phosphoric 
anhydride yield a /3 and y coniceine. Pseudoconine 
crystallizes in needles, melting at 98 C. 

FCENICULUM. FENNEL. 

"The fruit of Fceniculum capillaceum, Gilibert (nat. 
ord. UmbellifercB)" U. S. 

A perennial herb, 1 to 2 m. high, with decompound 
leaves, growing throughout Europe and Asia, more 
plentifully in the warmer regions. It is cultivated in 
France and Germany. 

There are two principal varieties, Roman and German. 
Indian fennel and bitter fennel are of less frequent oc- 
currence. 

Description. — German or Saxon fennel. The fruit is 
from 5 to 8 mm. long, straight or slightly curved, and 
about 3 m. in thickness, almost cylindrical, with five 
distinct greenish-yellow ribs on each mericarp, the 
lateral ones being more strongly developed than the 
others. Two short, thick styles surmount the fruit. 
The color in general is greenish-brown, the taste sweet 
and camphoraceous. 

Roman or Italian fennel differs from the above in its 
greater length, 10 to 14 mm. This dimension, however, 
varies with the age of the plant, each succeeding year 



2 3 8 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



producing a smaller fruit. Its taste, though quite 
aromatic, is less sharp than the German fennel. 

Histology. — The epicarp of the half fruit, which is 
less smooth, is formed of tabular cells with walls slightly 
but evenly thickened on all sides. Viewed on the sur- 




Fig. 68. — Fennel. 
Cross-section of mericarp of fennel: com, Commissural side; c, ribs 
with small vessel bundles; vt, vittae, and vl, vallecula?, oil passages; 
c (in center), endosperm of seed; sh, endocarp sheath (Tschirch). 



face, they are irregular in outline, somewhat angular, 
with sparsely distributed oval or almost round stomata. 
Imbedded in the mesocarp of the usual thin-walled 
tissue are the oil tubes, six in number, two on the inner 
face, the other four in the outer intercostal spaces. The 



FCENICULUM. FENNEL. 239 

cells forming the surface of the oil tubes are sharply 
angular in outline, and, with the surrounding tissue, of a 
dark brown color, caused by the infiltration of the resin- 
ous contents of the oil tubes. The fibro-vascular bundles, 
one in each rib, are composed of spiral and reticulate 
ducts, 4 to 6 microns broad, small, 2 to 3 microns broad, 
much pitted tracheids, and, making up the greater por- 
tion of the bundle, bast fibres which merge gradually into 
the characteristically large-pored parenchyma surround- 
ing the bundle. The endocarp is also distinctly char- 
acteristic, made up of a single layer of narrow, oblong, 
thin, straight- walled cells, in groups which are arranged 
at various angles to each other, but composed individ- 
ually of regularly parallel cells. 

Powder. — The brown angular oil tube cells and sur- 
rounding tissues form the most conspicuous elements of 
the powder. They are of no diagnostic value, but by 
clearing with chloral hydrate and treating with Schultze's 
maceration fluid, the characteristic tissues may be found. 
These are the large-pored parenchyma cells, surrounding 
the vascular bundles and the oblong cells of the en- 
docarp. By treating with oil the cells of the endosperm 
are seen to contain numerous single aleurone grains, in 
which are found calcium oxalate crystals in angular 
masses. (Tschirch and Oesterle.) 

Chemistry. — The essential constituent is the volatile 
oil. This varies greatly in the several varieties of the 
drug, both in quantity and composition. It has a 
specific gravity of 0.90 to 0.99, is soluble in all proportions 
of alcohol, becomes crystalline at low temperatures, 5 
to io° C, owing to the separation of anethol, pinene, 
dipentine, fenchone, and phellandrene. The percentage 
of anethol varies greatly. The oil of the Italian or sweet 
fennel, esteemed for its mild flavor, probably owes this 
quality to a lower proportion of anethol. (Fliickiger.) 



240 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

SEEDS. 

Seeds possess few universal characters. In general the 
tissues to be distinguished microscopically are the cells of 
the seed coat, or testa; those of the nucleus of the young 
plant, and those of the cotyledons. The seed coat differs 
greatly in the different seeds. In general, however, it is 
composed of parenchymatic cells with greatly thickened 
cell walls. The thickness of the cell walls differs in every 
seed, but most of the seeds of the Pharmacopoeia have 
stone cells in the seed coat. The tissues of the cotyledons 
are usually thin-walled and parenchymatic. Occasion- 
ally very delicate spiral vessels may be found in the 
cotyledons. Aleurone grains and starch grains are im- 
portant features in seed structures. One or the other, 
and frequently both, are found in seeds. 

AMYGDALUS DULCIS. SWEET ALMOND. 

The seed of Amygdalus communis, L., a plant originally 
found in Asia about the region of the Caspian Sea, now 
quite widely spread by cultivation in the milder climates 
of the world. Southern Italy, Spain and Greece, and the 
northern countries of Africa are the regions more com- 
mercially active. 

Description. — Elongated, thin; average size 2.5 cm. 
long and 1 cm. broad, 0.5 cm. thick. 

Commonly two forms are found, those with the hard 
shell and the paper-shelled. In the hard shell the outer 
pericarp wall is thick and plentifully provided with stone 
cells. In the paper-shelled this outer pericarp layer is 
more fibrous and thinner. The inner walls of the shell 
are alike in the two; hard, made up of compact smooth 
layers of stone cells ; between the two layers a more or less 
corky tissue is to be found, thickly interwoven with 
fibro-vascular bundles. Some stone cells may be found 
interspersed. 



PHYSOSTIGMA. CALABAR BEAN. 241 

The almond itself consists of two cotyledons closely 
appressed, surrounded by a thin brown layer of paren- 
chymatic tissue, with numerous fine vessel bundles 
ramifying over the surface ; this layer is readily removed 
by soaking the seed. 

Histology. — The outer layer of cells, the endocarp, 
consists of a number of layers, the outer ones of 
which are brown, flattened. These are often irregular 
because of the fine vessels that pass into the tissue of 
the endocarp. Calcium oxalate crystal sacs are also 
found. 

The inner layers are made up of small colorless cells 
whose outer walls are somewhat swollen and form a sort 
of interlacing with the inner cells of the exocarp. The 
inner face of the endocarp is united but slightly with the 
cells of the cotyledons. 

The cotyledons consist of numerous parenchymatic 
cells which are smaller and more regular at the periphery 
and increase in size and irregularity toward the centre. 
The cells contain numerous oil globules and also aleurone 
grains. Starch is lacking. 

Chemistry. — Over one-half the weight of the seed 
consists of a clear yellowish oil, mild tasting, sp. gr. 
0.9 20 . It consists for the main part of the glycerine 
ether of oleic acid, C 80 H 34 O 2 , also probably a number of the 
fatty acids found in Linum. A small amount of sugar 
(glucose) is also found. This with mucilaginous ma- 
terials makes up about 7 per cent. 

PHYSOSTIGMA. CALABAR BEAN. 

Physostigma is the seed of Physostigma venenosum 
(Balfour) , a member of the Papilionacece. It is a climbing 
shrub, sometimes 16 m. high, a native of the delta of the 
Niger and the Guinea Coast. Cultivation has proved 
successful. 

A so-called Calabar Bean comes into European markets 
16 



242 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



which is closely similar to Mucuna cylindrosperma, 
Welwitsch.* 

The seeds, two or three in number, are contained in. 
pods about 18 cm. long. 

Description. — Calabar beans are chocolate-colored and 




Fig. 69. — Physostigma. 
Cross-section of outer portion of physostigma seed: p, Palisade 
cells; / (macrosclereids), sclereids of spongy portion; s, pigment layer; 
/, microsclereids; a, outer seed coat with small vessels; i, inner seed 
coat; c, cotyledon (Tschirch). 



2.5 cm. long, 2 cm. broad and 1.5 cm. thick. In 

shape they are oblong-reniform, one side being flat 

or slightly convex and the other well curved. Along 

* Holmes: Ph. Jour., ix, 1879, 913. 



PHYSOSTIGMA. CALABAR BEAN. 243 

nearly the entire length of the curved side, and passing 
completely around one end of the seed, runs a broad, deep 
groove, the lips of which are thickened and paler in 
color and the bottom of which is black and bears a dis- 
tinct brown furrow in the centre. In this hilum there 
are frequently portions of a white papery funiculus. At 
one end the micropyle can be detected as a minute de- 
pression. 

Histology. — On cross-section near the chalaza four dis- 
tinct tissues can be made out. 

The external layer consists of closely appressed cylindri- 
cal cells with small lumen. These are one layer thick 
and have a palisade arrangement. Externally the ends 
are square, internally rounded and passing into the 
second row of tangentially arranged cells. These are 
more irregular and have thick walls and brownish cell 
contents. A number of air spaces are found in this layer. 
The third layer consists of much more irregularly ar- 
ranged cells. The last layer consists of flattened, dark- 
brown, tangentially arranged, thin- walled cells, under 
which the parenchyma of the cotyledons is found. This 
is made up of large cells, the outer layers being smaller 
and more regularly arranged. The cells contain large 
amounts of starch and a number of protein granules. The 
starch is ample and consists of large, elliptical grains 
with irregular hilum, and by polarized light shows curved 
lines similar to those found in papilionaceous starches. 

Chemistry. — Taste and smell are similar to those of 
other members of the bean family. Starch, 40 to 50 per 
cent. ; proteids, 23 per cent. ; 3 per cent, ash ; mucilage. 
The most important constituent is the alkaloid phy- 
sostigmine (eserine) . Hesse proposed the formula ■ 
C 15 H 20 N 3 O. 

Harnack and Witowski have isolated a second alkaloid, 
which they have called calabarine. This, they state, is 
allied to strychnine. The alkaloids are found in the 



244 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

cotyledons only. Hesse also found a cholesterin-like 
substance, physosterin. 

NUX VOMICA. 

Nux Vomica is the dried seed of Strychnos Nux Vomica, 
L., a small tree, indigenous to India and occurring also in 
Ceylon, Siam, and northern Australia. 

Description. — Dried Nux Vomica seeds are round or 
disk-shaped, and flattened but a little depressed on one 
side, and flattened on the other. They vary from 2 to 2.5 
cm. in diameter and 0.33 to 0.5 cm. in thickness, and are 
grayish in color. A number of closely appressed hairs 
radiate from the centre to the circumference. The edge 
is rounded or acute and at one point there is a promi- 
nence, the micropyle. The hilum is in the centre, and 
may be recognized by the scar left by the funicle. The 
seeds are almost odorless, but have an intense bitter taste. 

Histology. — A thin epidermis covers the entirely gray 
endosperm. 

The epidermis cells are thick- walled, deeply pored, 
side walls swollen. Each epidermis cell has a long, 
free papillose round-pointed hair, 1 mm. long, sharply 
inclined. 

Beneath the epidermis there are a number of large 
cells with dark-brown walls. 

On the outer surface of the endosperm is a layer of 
small cells whose side walls are perpendicular to the 
surface. These walls swell but slightly in water. The 
layers immediately beneath swell markedly on being 
placed in water. 

The layer of cellulose immediately surrounding the 
lumen is apt to be more highly refractive than the sur- 
rounding layers. The membrane of the cells is completely 
perforated by a few fine punctures. The membranes 
show the reaction of cellulose. In the interior of the 
endosperm cells are alcurone grains with crystalloids very 



NUX VOMICA. 



245 



variable in size and quantity and some fatty oils. The 
cells of the embryo are parenchymatic, have at times a 
few spiral vessels and cell contents of aleurone grains and 
fat. 




Fig. 70. — Section of Nux Vomica Seed. 

Showing i, the thick-walled cells of the seed; E, the elongated cells 
beneath the long hairs; s, sheath beneath hairs. 



Chemistry.— About equal amounts of strychnine and 
brucine, 0.23 to 5.3 per cent. Loganin, tannic acid, 40 
per cent. fat. Palmitin, caprin, and caprons. Butyric 
acid, alkaloid in the endosperm. Not definitely known 



246 PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 

whether to be found in the cell wall or in the proto- 
plasm of endoderm cells. Probably in protoplasm 
(Mayer). Igasurine probably does not exist. 



IGNATIA. 

The seeds of Strychnos Ignaiia, Bergius, a stout climb- 
ing plant indigenous to the southern Philippine Islands. 

Description. — Dried ignatia beans vary considerably 
in size, and are of dull grayish color and irregular 
ovoid outline. In general they are 2.5 cm. long and 
somewhat less broad and thick. Frequently there is one 
large, curved side seed and three or four smaller, natter 
surfaces, but some seeds are altogether irregular. The 
hilum is generally readily seen and sometimes there are 
remnants of the seed-coat covering the horny surface. 

Histology. — When soaked in warm water, the large 
endosperm can be divided into two portions, enclosing 
between them a cavity in which lies the embryo, with its 
small radicle and leafy cotyledons. The cells resemble 
those of nux vomica, but hairs are absent. 

Chemistry. — The constituents are those of nux vomica. 

SINAPIS. MUSTARD. 

Sinapis is the seed of Sinapis nigra, L., a member of the 
nat. ord. Cruciferce, now cosmopolitan. 

Description. — The seeds are small, about 1.5 mm. 
in diameter, spherical, slightly umbilicated, and of a 
dark-brown color. Under the magnifying glass the sur- 
face is finely reticular. 

The powder is green. 

Histology. — The epidermis consists of colorless, hex- 
agonal, tubular cells, whose inner walls undergo the 
mucilaginous modification upon the addition of water. 
Just beneath this row of cells there is a layer of palisade- 
like cells whose inner walls are thickened and deeply 



SINAPIS. MUSTARD. 



247 



colored from about half-way down, the outer walls 
remaining thin and colorless or light yellow. 




Fig. 



-Black Mustard. 



I, Stone cells of the walls of the seed, shown sidewise, Ps, and on 
end, Ps.fl. II, Epidermis cells on surface view. Ill, Pigment layer. 
IV, Aleurone layer (Vogl) . 



Beneath the palisade there follows a single row of tan- 
gentially arranged thick- walled cells, colored dark brown. 



248 



PLANT ORGANS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. 



Beneath this a zone of colorless cells filled with aleurone 
grains and oil, and finally a many rowed layer of empty 
compressed cells. 




Fig. 72. — White Mustard (Sinapis Alba). 
I, Part of testa: Gr, large cells; Ps, palisade cells; pg, pigment 
layer; Al, aleurone layer; S, hyaline layer. II, Isolated cells of sclereid 
layer, ill, Sclereid Layer seen from surface. IV, Aleurone layer. V, 
Epidermis. VI , Large cells from above. VII, Fragments of large cells 
in powder. VIII, Tissue from cotyledon (Vogl). 

The cotyledons consist of a regular thin-walled par- 
en chymatic tissue whose outer layers are thicker walled 
and smaller. 



PEAS AND BEANS. 249 

The contents are proteid granules and oil globules. 

Chemistry. — Mustard contains 33 per cent, fatty oil, 
about 18 per cent, proteid, 19 per cent, mucilage, and 
4 to 6 per cent, ash, a glycoside, sinigrin, and a ferment, 
myrosin, whose interaction in the presence of water yields 
the volatile oil of mustard (allyl sulphocyanate). 



PEAS AND BEANS. 

A knowledge of the structure of the seeds of the pea 
and the bean is of great service to the student of phar- 
macognosy, as these two seeds enter so largely into the 
manufacture of so many products. 

The pea is the seed of Pisitm sativum, L., a universally 
cultivated plant. Nat. ord. Leguminosece. 

Histology. — On the outside of the pea there is a thin 
epidermis which is palisade-like in structure, the cells 
being about 10 to 15 microns in diameter and 50 to 60 
microns long. The walls are irregularly thickened and 
are not lignified. The lumens of the epidermal cells are 
very irregular. They are almost occluded by the thick- 
ening of the cell wall in the middle of the cells ; below 
the lumen widens out perceptibly. Beneath the epi- 
dermis a row of thin-walled irregularly quadrate cells, 
the hypodermis, is found. These cells are about 35 
microns in diameter, and have a somewhat dumb-bell 
form. The remainder of the seed is formed of paren- 
chyma largely filled with starch and with aleurone grains. 
Tissues about the hilum show a slight thickening of the 
cell walls, forming a double layer of palisade cells, and 
certain elongated elements resembling tracheids may 
be found. 

The cells of the cotyledon epidermis are isodiametric, 
contain aleurone grains, while the main body of the 
cotyledons is made up of large parenchymatic cells, 

* Die wichtigsten vegetabilischen Nahrungs und Genussmittel. 



250 PLANT ORGANS AND PARTS OF PLANTS. 

COMPARISON OF PEA, BEAN, AND LENTIL. 





Palisade Epi- 
dermis. 


Hypodermis. 


Parenchyma 
of Cotyle- 
dons. 


Starch. 


Pea . . . 


75 to no microns 
long (average 
90), not conical 
toward cuticle ; 
inner cell wall ir- 
regular ; lumen 
wide near the in- 
ner wall, con- 
tracting in cen- 
tre, and widen- 
ing externally. 


Delicate goblet, 
beaker or dumb- 
bell-shaped cells 
whose inner walls 
are somewhat 
thicker than outer ; 
large intercellular 
spaces between 
cells at side (radial 
diameter 30 to 36 
microns, transverse 
•36 to 45 microns), 
rather thick walls 
with cleft pores, 
no crystals. 


Moderately 
thick -walled 
cells, 3 mi- 
crons, pit- 
ted ; cell wall 
smooth or 
minutely 
beaded in 
cross-section. 


15 to 51 microns, ir- 
regular in shape, 
with many pro- 
tuberances ; reni- 
form and bean- 
shaped forms, few 
elliptical. Hilum 
in many absent as 
fissure ; distinctly 
annulated. 


Bean . . 


30 to 60 microns 
long ; not conical 
at cuticle ; wall 
smooth within ; 
lumen wide at in- 
ner side, occlud- 
ed soon to peri- 
phery. 


Cross-section four- 
sided, without in- 
tercellular spaces 
(radial diameter 15 
to 30 microns, trans- 
verse 15 to 25 mi- 
crons), thickened 
at the sides and 
containing crystals 
of calcium oxalate 
(6 microns). 


Thick-walled 
cells with 
large pores, 
walls at least 
5 microns 
thick and 
coarsely 
beaded in 
cross-section. 


Distinctly elliptical, 
up to 57 microns ; 
kidney- and bean- 
shaped with long 
cleft hilum. An- 
nulations marked. 


Lentil . 


45 microns long, 
with a short coni- 
cal projection at 
cuticle; inner 
wall smooth ; lu- 
men wide, con- 
tracting toward 
outer wall. 


Compressed dumb- 
bell or hourglass- 
shaped, often ir- 
regular, seldom 
elongated, with in- 
tercellular spaces 
and cleft pores (ra- 
dial diameter 9 to 
24 microns, mostly 
15 to 18 microns; 
transverse diam- 
eter 15 to 30 mi- 
crons), no crystals. 


Thin-walled 
cells which 
on cross-sec- 
tion are 
slightly or 
indistinctly 
pitted. 


9 to 45 microns, re- 
sembling both bean 
and pea grains; 
many with concen- 
tric markings, not 
as distinct as bean 
starch ; many with 
small unbranched 
fissured hilum, 
others no fissure. 



filled with starch grains. The starch grains are very 
irregular, but are elongated oval, with lacerate elongated 
hilum. They average 20 to 40 microns 'in short and 
long diameters. 

The seed of the bean resembles that of the pea very 
closely, but differs in a few important particulars. The 
epidermal cells are palisade-like, as in the pea, but the 
thickening. of the cell walls is very characteristic. The 
entire lumen of the epidermal cells is occluded save at 
the base, where the walls become thinner. The palisade 
cells are also shorter (30 by 60 microns). The hypoderm 



PEAS AND BEANS. 



251 




Fig. 73. — Bean. 
On right side of illustration: 1, The testa, showing epidermal 
cells, Ep; H, hypodermwith calcium oxalate crystals; P, parenchyma; 
2, epidermis cells on surface; 3,5, isolated palisade cells; 4, hypoderm 
cells in profile; 6, on surface; 7, tissue of cotyledon. On left side: 
1—4, Portions of cotyledon structure; 5, tissue of the shell; 6, starch 
grains (Vogl). 



252 



PLANT ORGANS AND PARTS OF PLANTS. 




Fir,. 74. — Pea. 
On right side of illustration: I, Cross-section of testa; Ep, epider- 
mis; H, hypodermis; II, palisade cells on flat; III, isolated palisade 
cells; IV, hypoderm cells; V, epidermis in cotyledon leaves; VI, hypo- 
derm cells on flat; VI I , cotyledon epidermis. On left side: 1-5, Cell 
fragments of cotyledons; II, starch; III, cotyledon parenchyma 
(Vogl). 



PEAS AND BEANS. 253 

cells are usually smaller, about one-half the size of those 
of the pea, and the side walls are more markedly thick- 
ened. The parenchyma in the centre of the seed of the 
bean is made up of isodiametric cells whose walls are 
distinctly thicker than are the walls of the parenchyma 
of the pea. The starch grains are more distinctly oval 
and much larger, 50 microns representing the longer 
diameter of the larger grains. The hilum is distinctly 
elongated and lacerate. 

The table from Vogl* on page 250 shows the con- 
trasts more definitely. 



INDEX. 



Abies balsama, 51 
Acacia, 31, 32 

adulterations, 34 

fistula, 34 

gums, 31, 32 

horrida, 34 

Senegal, 32 

Stenocarpa, 34 

Verek, S3 
Acetate, linalool, 42 
Acids, antirrhinic, 186 

Callitrol, 57 

cantharidic, anhydride of, 23 

cathartic, 182 

cathartinic, 115 

cetraric, 208, 209 

cinnamic, 63, 166 

copaivic, 65 

digit alic, 186 

filicic , 124 
tannic, 124 

formic, nitrile of, 24 

gentisic , 117 

glycosido-gummic, 30 

guaiac. 60 
resin, 60 

guaiac onic, 60 

guaiaretic, 60 

ipecacuanhic, no 

lichen-stearic, 208, 209 

masticin, 58 

meta-arabic, 30 

metacopaivic, 65 

mucic , 210 

oleic, ether of, 241 

oxy copaivic, 65 

picro-podophyllinic, 131 

podophyllinic, 131 

quillaic, 170 

rheotannic, 115 

Sandaracol, 57 

santalic, 154 
Aconite, 141 

powder, 141 
Aconitum ferox, 141 

Japonicum, 141 

napellus, 141 
Acornin, 126 
Acorus calamus, 124 



African ginger, 132 

myrrh, 73 
Agathis Dammara, 52 
Alcohols, 42 

aromatic, 43 

benzyl, 43 

butyl, 42 

di olefinic, 42 

ethyl, 42 

hexyl, 42 

methyl, 42 

octyl, 42 

olefin, 42 

propyl, 42 
Aldehydes, 43 

cinnamic, 43, 166 

tiglin, 60 
Aleppo galls, 84 

wormseed, 210 
Aleurone, 234 
Alexandrian senna, 179 

wormseed, 210 
Alhagi Maurorum, 26 
Aliphatic hydrocarbons, 41 
Allyl sulphocyanate, 249 
Almond, hard-shell, 240 

oil, 241 

paper-shell, 240 

sweet, 240 
Alstonia scholaris bark, 173 
Ammoniac, 70 
Ammoniacum, 70 

amygdaloides, 70 

lump, 70 

tear, 70 
Amygdalin, 176 
Amygdaloid asafcetida, 67 
Amygdalus communis, 240 

dulcis, 240 
Amylodextrin, 76 
Anacardium gums, 31 
Ancola copal, 54 
Anethol, 43 
Angostura bark, 170 
adulterations, 172 
Brazilian, 173 
false, 172 
powder of, 172 
Angosturine, 173 



255 



256 



INDEX. 



Anhydride of cantharidic acid, 23 

Animal drugs, 20 

Animi, 54 

Antirrhinic acid, 186 

Apiol, 43 _ 

Apis mellifica, 28 

Aporetin, 115 

Apricot gum, 32 

Arabins, 30 

gums, 31 

insoluble, 30 
Aromatic alcohols, 43 

hydrocarbons, 41 
Aromatics, 38 
Artemisia pauciflora, 210 
Artificial camphor, 42 
Asafcetida, 65 

amygdaloid, 67 

formula of, 47 

lump, 67 

stony, 67 

tear, 67 
Asaresinotannol, 68 
Aspidium, 119 

Filix mas, 119 

powder, 122 
Assimilated starch, 76 
Astragalus adscendens, 26 

gummifer, 35 
Atropa belladonna, 97, 187 
Atropine, 10 1, 189 
Atrosin, 10 1 



/3-coniceine, 237 
B resin, 58 
Balsams, 37, 45 

Canada, 45 

complexity of, 47 

copaiba, 63 

adulterations, 65 

Peru, formula, 47 
Barks, 155 

alstonia scholaris, 173 

angostura, 170 

definition, 155 

epidermis of, 156 

sassafras, 176 

soap, 169 

stern ostomum acutatum, 173 

Strychnos Nux vomica, 173 

wild cherry, 175 
Barosma betulina, 203 

crenulata, 203 
■ 1 1 ,ii Lfolia, 204 
Bassora gum, 32 
Bassorin, 30, 31 

gums, 32 



Bast fibres of barks, 155 
Beans, 249 

peas, and lentils, comparison 

of, 250 
Beet sugar, 27 
Beetles, blistering, 22 
Brazilian, 24 

potato, Colorado, 23 
Belladonna, 187 

powder, 98, 189 

root, 97 
Belladonnine, 101, 189 
Belly benzoin, 61 
Bengal turmeric, 136 
Benzaldehyde, 43 
Benzoin, 61 

belly, 61 

foot, 61 

head, 61 

Penang, 62 

Siam, 62 

Sty rax, 61 

Sumatra, 61 
Benzoinum, 61 
Benzoresinol, 63 

ester, cinnamic acid, 63 
Benzyl alcohol, 43 
Beta coniceine, 237 

resin, guaiac, 60 

Vulgaris, 26 
Bitter fennel, 237 
Black haw, 174 

mustard, 246 

pepper, 232 
Blistering beetles, Brazilian, 24 
Bohemian galls, 87 
Bombay mastiche, 59 
Bonplandia trifoliata, 171 
Borneol, 43 

camphor, 43 
Brazilian angostura, 173 

blistering beetles, 24 
Buchu, 203 

adulterations, 204 

oil , 20 5 

powder, 204 
Bulbs, 138 
Butyl alcohol, 42 



Cadinene, 42, 70 
Calabar bean, 241 
Calabarine, 243 
Calamine, 126 
Calamus, 124 

oil, 126 
Callitris quadrivalvis, 56 
Callitrol acid, 57 



INDEX. 



257 



Camellia thea, 205 
Camphene, 42 
Camphor, 43, 48 

artificial, 42 

Borneol, 43 

Formosa, 48 

Japan, 43, 48 
Camphora, 48 

Cinnamomum, 48 
Canada balsam, 45 
Canadian turpentine, 51 
Cane sugar, 26 
Cannabin, 222 
Cannabinine, 222 
Cannabis indica, 218 

sativa, 218 
Cantharides, 22 

adulterations, 23 
Cantharidic acid, anhydride of, 23 
Cantharidin, 23 
Cantharis, 22 

adulterations, 23 

vesicatoria, 22 
Cape gum, 34 
Carabus auratus, 24 
Caramanca, 37 
Caramel, 27, 28 
Carragheen, 209 
Carthagena ipecac, 105 
Carvacrol, 43 
Carvone, 43 
Caryophyllene, 42, 65 
Caryophyllin, 225, 228 
Caryophyllus, 223 
Cascara, 157 

powder, 157 

Sagrada, 157 
Cassia acutifolia, 179 

angustifolia, 179 

cinnamon, 160 
Cassienzimmt, 160 
Cathartic acid, 182 
Cathartinic acid, 115 
Cathartomannite, 182 
Catonia aurata, 24 
Caucasian insect flower, 214 
Cellulose, starch, 76 
Cephaslis Ipecacuanha, 105 
Cerasin, 30 

gums, 31 
Cetraria, 207 

islandica, 207 
Cetraric acid, 208, 209 
Cetrarin, 209 
Ceylon cinnamon, 160 
Chagnal gum, 32 
Cherry bark, wild, 175 

gums, 32, 34 



Chinese cinnamon, 160 

flies, 24 

galls, 85 

ginger, 132 

rhubarb, 11 r 

turmeric, 135 
Chios turpentine, 59 
Chittem bark, 157 
Choline, 126 
Chondrus, 209 

crisp us, 209 
Chrysanthemum, 214 

carneum, 214 

cinerariaefolium, 214 

roseum, 214 
Chrysophan, 115 
Cicambyx moschata, 24 
Cinnamic acid, 63, 166 

benzoresinol ester, 63 
suma resino tannol ester, 63 

aldehyde, 43, 166 
Cinnamon, 159 

Cassia, 160 

Ceylon, 160 

Chinese, 160 

oil, 166 

powder, 163 

Saigon, 159 
Cinnamomum aromaticum, 160 

Camphora, 48 

Cassia, 160 

Saigonicum, 159 

Zeylanicum, 160 
Cinnamyl acetate, 166 
Citral, 43 
Citronellal, 43 
Cloves, 223 

oil of, 228 

powder, 225 
Coca, 198 

Huanuco, 199 

powder, 199 

Truxillo, 199 
Cocaine, 201 
Coccus mannipanis, 26 
Cochin turmeric, 136 
Cochlospermum gossypium, gum 

of, 32 
Cocos, 32 
Colchicum, 139 

autumn ale, 139 

powder, 140 
Colophonium, 51 
Colorado potato beetle, 23 
Commiphora Myrrha, 71 
Conhydrine, 236, 237 
Coniceine, /?-, 237 

Y~, 237 



258 



INDEX. 



Conifereae, 55 
Conine, 236, 237 

methyl, 236, 237 
Conium, 234 

maculatum, 234 
Copaiba, 63 

balsam, 63 

adulterations, 65 

oil, 65 
Copaifera confertiflora, 64 

coriaceae, 63 

Guyanensis, 63 

Langsdorffi, 63 

multijuga', 64 

oblongifolia, 64 

officinalis, 63 
Cop ai vie acid, 65 
Copal, 54 

Ancola, 54 

kauri, 56 

Manila, 55 

Mozambique, 54 

South American, 55 

West African, 55 

Zanzibar, 54 
Cortex angosturas, 170 

cinnamomi, 159 

granati, 166 

pruni virginianae, 175 

Quillajae, 169 

rhamni purshianas, 157 

sassafras, 176 

viburni prunifolii, 174 
Cowrie, 56 
Creosol, 60 

Cryptogams, vascular, 118 
Cubeba, 228 
Cubebin, 232 
Cubebs, 228 

oil, 232 

powder, 230 
Curcuma, 135 

longa, 135 

rotunda, 135 
Curcumin, 138 
Cusparin, 173 
Cusparia febrifuga, 170 
Cusso, 212 

powder, 213 
Cynips gallae tinctoria, 83 

Hungarica, 86 

Kalian, 87 

Leguicola, 86 



D-pinene, 70 

Dai y, I [ungarian, 217 

Russian, 2 1 7 



Dalmatian insect flower, 214 
Dammar, 52 
Dammara Australis, 56 

officinalis, 52 

orientalis, 55 

ovata, 56 
Dermatogen, 156 
Dextrose, 28 
Di olefinic alcohol, 42 
Dicotyledons, 118 
Digitalein, 186 
Digitalic acid, 186 
Digit alin, 186 
Digitalin-resin, 186, 187 
Digitalis, 182 

adulterations, 185 

powder, 184 

purpurea, 182 
Digitalosium, 186 
Digitonin, 186 
Digitoxin, 186 
Dioscamphor, 205 
Diosium, 205 
Diosphenol, 205 
Dipterocarpeae, 55 
Dorema Ammoniacum, 70 
Doryphora, 23 
Dragon leech, 22 
Drugs, animal, 20 

organic, classification, 19 

vegetable, with organic struc- 
ture, 75 
without organic structure, 25 
Dryopteris Filix mas, 40, 119 

marginalis, 119, 121 
Ducts of vessels of woods, 147 



East Indian ginger, 132 

Emetine, no 

Emodin, 115 

Empleurum serrulatum, 204 

Epicauta adspersa, 24 

Erythroretin, 115 

Erythroxylon, 198 

coca, 198 
Esembckia febrifuga, 173 
Eserine, 243 
Ether of oleic acid, 241 
Ethyl alcohol, 42 
Eucalypten, 203 
Eucalyptol, 203 
Eucalyptolcn, 203 
Eucalyptus, 201 

globulus, 201 

oil, 203 

powder, 203 



INDEX. 



2 59 



Eugenia aromatica, 227, 
caryophyllata, 223 

Eugenin, 228 

Eugenol, 43 

potassium, 225 

European larch, 50 

Exudates, sweet, 25 



False angostura bark, 172 
Fat manna, 26 
Fennel, 237 

bitter, 237 

German, 237 

Indian, 237 

Italian, 237 

oil, 239 

powder, 239 

Roman, 237 

Saxon, 237 

sweet, 237 
Feronia, 31 
Ferula fcetida, 65 

fcetidissima, 65 

galbaniflua, 68 

Jaschkeanum, 65 

Narthex, 65 

rubricaulis, 68 
Fibres of woods, 148 
Filicic acid, 124 

tannic acid, 124 
Flake manna, 25, 26 

tragacantha, 36 
Flowers, 207 

insect, 214 

adulterations, 217 
Caucasian, 214 
Dalmatian, 214 
Persian ,214 
powder of, 216 
Fceniculum, 237 . 

capillaceum, 237 
Folia digitalis, 182 

Sennas, 179 
Foot benzoin, 61 
Formic acid, nitrile of, 44 
Formosa camphor, 48 
Fraxin, 26 
Fraxinus Ornus, 25 
French digitalin, 186 

galls, 87 
Fruits, 223 



}'-CONICEINE, 237 

Galactose, 28 
Galbanum, 68 



Galbaresinotannol, 69 
Galipea Cusparia, 170 

febrifuga, 170 

officinalis, 170 
Galipein, 173 
Galla, S3 
Galls, 83 

Aleppo, 84 

Bohemian, 87 

Chinese, 85 

French, 87 

German, 87 

Hungarian, 86 

Japanese, 85 
Gamma-coniceine, 237 
Gentian, 115 

powder, 117 
Gentiana lutea, 115 

pannonica, 115 

punctata, 115 

purpurea, 115 
Gentianin, 117 
Gentianose, 117 
Gentio-picrin, 117 
Gentisic acid, 117 
Gentisin, 117 
Geraniol, 42 
German digitalin, 186 

fennel, 237 

galls, 87 
Gigartina mamillosa, 209 
Ginger, 131 

African, 132 

Chinese, 132 

East Indian, 132 

Jamaican, 132 
Glucose, 27 
Glutio-genin, 117 
Glycosido-gummic acids, 30 
Glycyrrhiza glabra, 10 1 

glandulifera, 10 1 

powdered, 104, 105 
Glycyrrhizin, 105 
Granulose, 76 
Grape sugar, 27 
Gray leech, 20, 22 
Green leech, 22 
Guaiac, 59 

acid, 60 

adulterations, 60 

beta resin, 60 

Resina, 59 

resin acid, 60 

yellow, 60 
Guaiacol, 60 
Guaiaconic acid, 60 
Guaiacum officinale, 59 
Guaiaretic acid, 60 



260 



INDEX. 



Guibourtia copallifera, 54 
Gum, 29 

acacia, 32 

Anacardium, 31 

apricot, 32 

arabic, 32 

adulterations, 34 

arabin, 31 

Bassora, 32 

bassorin, 32 

Cape, 34 

Caramanca, 37 

cerasin, 31 

chagnal, 32 

cherry, 32, 34 

Cochlospermum gossypium, 32 

Jesire, 34 

kuter, 32 

mandel, 32 

mesquit, 35 

Moringa, 32 

Moussul, 37 

origin, 31 

peach, 32 

plum, 32, 34 

prune, 32 

resins, 37, 45 

Talca, 34 

Senaar, 34 

Souakim, 34 

South African, 34 

tragacanth, 32, 35 
adulterations, t,j 

watery solutions, 30 



H^EMATIN, 153 

Hematoxylin, 153 
Haematoxylon, 152 

Campechianum, 152 
Hagenia Abyssinica, 212 
Hard resins, 45 
Hard-shell almond, 240 
Haw, black, 174 
Head benzoin, 61 
Hemiterpene, 42 
Hemlock, 234 

fruit, 236 

leaf, 235 
Hemp, Indian, 218 
powder of, 220 
Heptane, 41 
Herbs, 207 
Hexose, 29 
I [1 vl alcohol, 42 

I f ilium of starch grain, 75, 76 

I I irudo, 20 
medicinalis, 20, 22 



Hirudo officinalis, 22 

troctina, 22 
Homoptercocarpin, 154 
Honduras sarsaparilla, 91 

microscopic appearance, 94 
powdered, 95 
Honey, 28 

Horizontal rhizomes, 117 
Huanuco coca, 199 
Humulene, 42 
Humulus Lupulus, 80 
Hungarian daisy, 217 

galls, 86 
Hydrocarbons, 41 

aliphatic, 41 

aromatic, 41 
Hygrine, 201 
Hymenasa, 54 

Courbarii, 55 
Hyoscine, 192 
Hyoscyamine, 189, 192 
Hyoscyamus, 189 

niger, 189 

powder, 191 



Iceland moss, 207 
Icica, 55 
Ignatia, 246 
Imperial tea, 207 
Indian fennel, 237 

hemp, 218 

powder of, 220 

myrrh, 73 

senna, 179 
Inosite, 186 
Insect flowers, 214 

adulterations, 217 
Caucasian, 214 
Dalmatian, 214 
Persian, 214 
powder of, 216 
Inula conyza, 185 
Invert sugar, 27 
Ionidium Ipecacuanha, no 
Ipecac, 105 

Carthagena, 105 

powder of, 107 

Rio, 105 

striated, no 

undulated, 1 10 

white, 1 10 
Ipecacuanhic acid, no 
[pomcea Jalapa, 144 
Irish moss, 209 
Isopellctierin, 169 
Isorottlerin, 83 
Italian fennel, 237 



INDEX. 



26l 



Jaborandis, Pernambuco, 192 

powder, 193 

Rio, 192 
Jaborine, 194 
Jalap, 144 

powder, 144, 145 
Jamaica quassia, 149, 151 

sarsaparilla, 91 

microscopic characteristics, 

95 

ginger, 132 
Japan camphor, 43, 48 

galls, 85 
Java turmeric, 136 
Jesire gum, 34 

Kamala, 83 
Kauri, 56 

fields, 56 
Ketones, 43 
Koussine, 213 
Kousso, 212 

powder, 213 
Koussotoxine, 213 
Kramer's Viburnin, 174 
Kuter gum, 32 

Lactose, 27 

Larch, European, 50 

Larix Europea, 50 

Lastrea Filix mas, 119 

Lavandula vera, 217 

Lavender, 217 

Leaf tragacantha, 36 

Leaves, 177 

epidermis of, 177 

hemlock, 234 

parts of, 179 
Lecanora esculenta, 26 
Leech, 20 

dragon, 22 

gray, 20, 22 

green, 22 
Lentils, peas, and beans, com- 
parison of, 250 
Levant wormseed, 210 

powder, 211 
Lichen starch, 208, 209 
Lichenin, 208, 209 
Lichen-stearic acid, 208, 209 
Licorice root, 10 1 
Limonene, 42 
Linalool, 42 

acetate, 42 
Liquidamber, 73 

orientalis, 73 

styraciflua, 73 



J Logwood, 152 

powder, 153 
Long turmeric, 135 
Lubriform fibres of woods, 148 
Lupulinum, 80 
Lycop odium, 80 

adulterations, 80 

clavatum, 80 
Lytta, 23 



Madras turmeric, 136 
Male-fern, 40, 119 
Mallotus Philippinensis, 83 
Mandel, 61 

gum, 32 
Manila copal, 55 
Manitoba Senega, no 
Manna, 25 

fat, 26 

flake, 25, 26 

lump, 25 

sorts, 25 

stem, 25 

tear, 25 
Mannite, 26 
Mastiche, 58 

adulterations, 59 

Bombay, 59 

Chios, 59 
Masticin, 58 

acid, 58 
Materia medica, definition, 17 
Mel, 28 
Mentha hirsuta, 194 

piperita, 194 
Menthol, 43, 198 
Menthon, 198 
Mesquit gum, 35 
Meta-arabic acid, 30 
Metacopaivic acid, 65 
Methyl alcohol, 42 

conine, 236, 237 
Methyl-pelletierin, 169 
Mexican sarsaparilla, 91 

microscopic characteristics, 

95 
Milk sugar, 28 
Minnesota Senega, no 
Monocotyledons, 118 
Moringa gums, 32 
Moss, Iceland, 207 

Irish, 209 
Mother resin, 68 
Moussul gum, 37 
Mozambique copal, 54 
Mucic acid, 210 
Mucilages, 29 



262 



INDEX. 



Mucuna cylindrosperma, 242 
Mustard, 246 

black, 246 

oil, 249 

nitrogen compounds from, 43 
sulphur compounds from, 43 

white, 248 
Mylabris, 23 

cichorii, 24 

phalerata, 24 
Myrica, 41 
Myrosin, 249 
Myrrh, 71 

African, 73 

Indian, 73 

Turkish, 73 
Myrrha, 71 
Myrrh ol, 73 



Nephrodium Filix mas, 119 
Nitrile of formic acid, 44 
Nitrogen compounds from mus- 
tard oil, 43 
Nux vomica, 244 



Oblique rhizomes, 118 
Octyl alcohol, 42 
Oils, 37 

almond, 241 

buchu, 205 

calamus, 126 

cinnamon, 166 

cloves, 228 

copaiba, 65 

cubebs, 232 

eucalyptus, 203 

fennel, 239 

galbanum, 70 

mustard, 249 

nitrogen compounds from, 43 
sulphur compounds from, 43 

sassafras, 176 

volatile, 38 
Olefin alcohols, 42 
Oleic acid, ether of, 241 
Oleoresins, 37 
Ordinary resins, 45 

anic drugs, classification, 19 
Oxycannabin, 222 
Oxycopaivic acid, 65 



Paper-shell almond, 240 

Para sarsaparilla, g 1 

microscopic characteristics, 
94 



Paraffme, 41 

Parenchyma of woods, 148 

Parillin, 97 

Peach gum, 32 

Peas, 249 

beans, and lentils, comparison 
of, 250 
Pelletierin, 169 
Penang benzoin, 62 
Pentose, 29 
Pepper, 232 

black, 232 
Peppermint, 194 

powder, 196 
Periblem, 156 

Pernambuco jaborandis, 192 
Persian insect flower, 214 
Peucedanum albacein, 65 
Phseoretin, 115 
Pharmacodynamics, 17 
Pharmacognosy, definition, 17 

history, 18 
Pharmacology, definition, 17 
Pharmacy, definition, 17 
Phellandrene, 42 
Physosterin, 244 
Physostigma, 241 

venenosum, 241 
Physostigmine, 243 
Picraena excelsa, 149 
Picro-podophyllin, 131 
Picro-podophyllinic acid, 131 
Pilocarpine, 194 
Pilocarpus, 192 

jaborandi, 192 

powder, 193 

selloanus, 192 
Pinenc, 42 

D-, 70 
Pinus palustris, 49, 52 

Taeda, 49 
Piper, 232 

cubeba, 228 

nigrum, 232 
Piperin, 234 
Pistacia lentiscus, 58 

Terebinthinae, 59 
Pisum sativum, 249 
Pits of woods, 147 
Plant organs, 88 

parts of, 88 
Plerome, 156 
Plum gum, 32, 34 
Podophyllin, 131 
Podophyllinic acid, 131 
Podophylloquercetin, 131 
Podophyllotoxin, 131 
Podophyllum, 126 



INDEX. 



263 



Podophyllum peltatum, 126 

powder, 130 
Polygala Senega, no 
Polyp odium Filix mas, 119 
Polystichum Filix mas, 119 
Pomegranate, 166 
Pores of woods, 147 
Potato beetle, Colorado, 23 
Powdered substances,- 75 
Propyl alcohol, 42 
Prosopis, 35 
Protokosine, 213 
Prune gum, 31, 32 
Prunus gums, 31, 32 

serotina, 175 
Pseudoconine, 236, 237 
Pseudo-pelletierin, 169 
Psychotria emetica, no 
Pterocarpin, 154 
Pterocarpus santalinus, 153 
Pule gone, 43 
Punica granatum, 166 
Pyrethri flores, 214 
Pyrogallol, 153 
Pyroguaiacin, 60 



Quassia, 149 

amara, 149 

Jamaica, 149, 151 

Surinam, 149, 150, 151 
Quassin, 152 
Quercus alba, 87 

bicolor, 87 

lobata. 87 

lusitanica, 83 

obtusifolia, 87 

pedunculata, 86 

Persica, 26 

sessiliflora, 86 

vallonea, 26 

virens, 87 
Quillaic acid, 170 
Quillaja Saponaria, 169 



Radix belladonnas, 97 
gentianae, 115 
glycyrrhizas, 10 r 
ipecacuanhas, 105 
rhei, in 
senegas, no 

Red Saunders, 153 
powder, 154 

Resene, 45 

Reserve starch, 76 

Resine, 45 

Resinotannol, 63 



Resins, 37, 44, n 

B, 58 

complexity of, 46 

guaiac, 59 
beta, 60 

gum, 37, 45 

hard, 45 

kauri, 56 

mother, 68 

ordinary, 45 

soft, 45 

X, 58 
Rhamnus Purshiana, 157 
Rheotannic acid, 115 
Rhizomes, 117 

horizontal, 117 

oblique, 118 

of dicotyledons, 118 

of monocotyledons, 118 

of vascular cryptogams, 118 

vertical, 118 
Rhubarb , in 

Chinese, 111 

powder of, 113 
Rhus semialata, 85 
Richardsonia scabra, no 
Rio ipecac, 105 

jaborandis, 192 
Roman fennel, 237 
Roots, 88 

belladonna, 97 

licorice, 10 1 

structure of, general, 88 
primary, 88 
secondary, 89 
Rosin, 51 
Rottlerin, 83 
Round turmeric, 135 
Rumex officinale, 111 
Russian daisy, 217 



Saccharum, 26 

lactis, 28 

ofhcinarum, 26 

uveum, 27 
Saigon cinnamon, 1.59 
Saigonzimmt, 159 
Salix fragilis, 26 
Sandarac, 56 
Sandaracol acid, 57 
Santal, 154 
Santalic acid, 154 
Santalin, 154 
Santalum rubrum, 153 
Santonica, 210 

powder, 211 
Santonin, 211 



264 



INDEX. 



Sapogenin, 170 
Saponin, 97, 169, 170 
Sapotoxin, 170 
Sarsaparilla, 90 
Honduras, 91 

microscopic characteristics, 

94 
powdered, 95 
Jamaica, 91 

microscopic characteristics, 

.95 
Mexican, 91 

microscopic characteristics, 

t, 95 
Para, 91 

microscopic characteristics, 

94 

separating varieties, 93 
Sassafras bark, 176 

officinale, 176 

oil, 176 

variifolia, 176 
Saxon fennel, 237 
Schultze's maceration fluid, 149 
Seeds, 240 
Senaar gum, 34 
Senega, no 

Manitoba, no 

Minnesota, no 
Senegin, 111 
Senna, 179 

Alexandrian, 179 

Indian, 179 

powder, 180 

Tinnevelly, 179 
Sennapicrin, 182 
Sesqui-terpenes, 42 
Siam benzoin, 62 
Simple parenchyma, 148 
Sinapis, 246 

alba, 248 

nigra, 246 
Sinigrin, 249 
Sitaris, 23 
Smilax medica, 90 

officinalis, 90 

papvracea, 90 
Soap bark, 169 
Soft resins, 45 
Sorghum, 26 
Souakim gum, 34 
South African gum, 34 

American copal, 55 
Spanish flics, 22 

adulterations, 23 

Spiers, 38 
Squill, 138 

powder, 139 



Starch, 75 

assimilated, 76 

cellulose, 76 

examination for, 77 

grains, 75, 76 

hilum of, 75, 76 

lichen, 208, 209 

reserve, 76 
Sternostomum acutatum bark, 

1 73 
Stony asafcetida, 67 
Storax, 73 
Striated ipecac, no 
Strychnos Ignatia, 246 

Nux vomica, 244 
bark, 173 

differentiation from ango- 
stura bark, 173 
Styrax Benzoin, 61 
Styrene, 41 
Sugar, 25, 26 

beet, 27 

cane, 26 

grape, 27 

invert, 27 

milk, 28 
Sulphur compounds from mus- 
tard oil, 43 
Suma resino tannol ester, cin- 

namic acid, 63 
Sumatra benzoin, 61 
Surinam quassia, 149, 150, 151 
Sweet almond, 240 

exudates, 25 

fennel, 237 
Symphytum officinale, 185 



Talc a gum, 34 
Tamarisk Gallica, 26 
Tannols, 45 
Tea, 205 

Imperial, 207 
Tcrebinthina, 49 

Canadensis, 51 

communis, 49 

Venetia, 50 
Terpenes, 41 
Terpineol, 43 
Thuyone, 43 
Thymol, 43 
Tiglin aldehyde, 60 
Tinnevelly senna, 179 
Tracheids of woods, 147 
Trachylobium, 55 

mossambicense, 54 
Tragacanth gum, 32, 35 
adulterations, 37 



INDEX. 



265 



Tragacantha, 32, 35 

flake, 36 

leaf, 36 

sorts, 36 

stem, 36 
Tragacanthin, 37 
Truxillo coca, 199 
Tubers, 138 
Turkish myrrh, 73 
Turmeric, 135 

Bengal, 136 

Chinese, 135 

Cochin, 136 

Java, 136 

long, 135 

Madras, 136 

powder, 137 

round, 135 
Turmerol, 138 
Turpentine, 49 

Canadian, 51 

Chios, 59 

Venice, 50 

adulterations, 51 



Umbelliferon, 68, 69 
Undulated ipecac, no 
Urginea maritima, 138 



Vascular cryptogams, 118 
Vateria Indica, 55 
Vegetable drugs with organic 
structure, 75 

without organic structure, 25 
Venice turpentine, 50 

adulterations, 51 



Verbascum leaves, 185 

phlomoides, 185 

thapsiforme, 185 
Vermicelli, 36 
Vertical rhizomes, 118 
Viburnin, Kramer's, 174 
Viburnum prunifolium, 174 
Volatile oils, 38 
Vouapa, 55 



Waxberry, 41 
Waxes, 41 

West African copal, 55 
White ipecac, no 

mustard, 248 
Wild cherry bark, 175 
Woods, 146 

ducts of vessels of, 147 

lubriform fibres of, 148 

parenchyma of, 148 

pits of, 147 

pores of, 147 

tracheids of, 147 
Wormseed, Aleppo, 210 

Alexandria, 210 

Levant, 210 

powder, 211 



X resin, 58 



Zanzibar copal, 54 
Zeylonzimmt, 160 
Zingiber, 131 

officinale, 131 
Zonaris, 23 



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pleted work while the earlier volumes are still fresh. The American publication of the entire 
work is under the editorial supervision of Dr. ALFRED STENGEL, who has selected the subjects 
for the American Edition, and has chosen the editors of the different volumes. 

The usual method of publishers when issuing a publication of 



VOLUMES SOLD 
SEPARATELY 



this kind has been to require physicians to take the entire work. 
This seems to us in many cases to be undesirable. Therefore, in 
purchasing this Practice physicians will be given the opportunity 
of subscribing for it in entirety; but any single volume or any 
number of volumes, each complete in itself, may be obtained by those who do not desire the 
complete scries. This latter method offers to the purchaser many advantages which will be 
appreciated by those who do not care to subscribe for the entire work at one tune 

SEE NEXT TWO PAGES FOR LIST 



PRACTICE OF MEDICIXE. 



AMERICAN EDITION 

NOTHNAGEL'S PRACTICE 

VOLUMES NOW READY 



Typhoid and Typhus Fevers 

By Dr. H. Curschmann, Professor of Medicine in Leipsic. The entire 
volume edited, with additions, by William Osler, M. D., F. R. C. P., 
Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Univer- 
sity, Baltimore. Octavo, 646 pages, illustrated. Cloth, $5.00 net ; Half 
Morocco, $6.00 net. 

"Under the editorial supervision of Dr. Osier, the original German work, excellent 
though it is, has been much improved, greatly enlarged, and enhanced in value, espe- 
cially to American readers. . . . The monograph on typhoid fever is the best exponent 
of the knowledge that we have in regard to this disease that is to be had in any lan- 
guage." — Jotirnal of the American Medical Association. 

Smallpox (including Vaccination), Varicella, Cholera Asiatica, 
Cholera Nostras, Erysipelas, Erysipeloid, Pertussis, and 
Hay Fever 

By Dr. H. Immermann, of Basle ; Dr. Th. von Jurgensen, of Tubin- 
gen ; Dr. C. Liebermeister, of Tubingen ; Dr. H. Lenhartz, of Ham- 
burg ; and Dr. G. Sticker, of Giessen. The entire volume edited, with 
additions, by Sir J. W. Moore, M. D., F. R. C. P. I., Professor of Prac- 
tice, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. Octavo, 682 pages, illustrated. 
Cloth, $5.00 net ; Half Morocco, $6.00 net. 

" Dr. Immermann's vindication of vaccination in the prophylaxis of smallpox will be 
read with peculiar interest at the present time, since it is probably the most complete 
and unassailable indictment of the propaganda of antivaccination fanatics which has ever 
been published." — The London Lancet. 

Diphtheria, Measles, Scarlet Fever, and Rotheln 

By William P. Northrup, M. D., of New York, and Dr. Th. von 
Jurgensen, of Tubingen. The entire volume edited, with additions, by 
William P. Northrup, M. D., Professor of Pediatrics, University and 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. Octavo, 672 pages, illus- 
trated, including 24 full-page plates, 3 in colors. Cloth, $5.00 net ; Half 
Morocco, $6.00 net. 

" The author is to be congratulated on the exhaustive and practical manner in which 
he presents the subject. . . . The articles on measles, scarlet fever, and German measles 
are exhaustive treatises, with numerous additions by the American editor." — Journal 
of the American Medical Association. 

Diseases of the Bronchi, Diseases of the Pleura, and In- 
flammations of the Lungs 

By Dr. F. A. Hoffmann, of Leipsic ; Dr. O. Rosenbach, of Berlin ; and 
Dr. F. Aufrecht, of Magdeburg. The entire volume edited, with additions, 
by John H. Musser, M. D., Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of 
Pennsylvania. Octavo, 1029 pages, illustrated, including 7 full-page colored 
lithographic plates. Cloth, $5.00 net ; Half Morocco, $6.00 net. 

" These monographs in the original hold an enviable place in German medical literature, 
each one bein°- exhaustive, complete, authoritative, and written by men specially fitted for 
the work. But the American edition is not only a reproduction in English, it is all of this 
and more ; for the American editor has added much of value not included in the original, 
and he has brought every part thoroughly up to date." — Journal of the American Medical 
Association. 



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NOTHNAGEL'S PRACTICE 

VOLUMES NOW READY AND IN PRESS 



Diseases of the Pancreas, Suprarenals, and Liver 

By Dr. L. Oser, of Vienna ; Dr. E. Neusser, of Vienna, and Drs. H. 
Quincke and G. Hoppe-Seyler, of Kiel. The entire volume edited, with 
additions, by Reginald H. Fitz, A. M., M. D., Hersey Professor of the 
Theory and Practice of Physic, Harvard University ; and Frederick A. 
Packard, M. D., Late Physician to Pennsylvania and Children's Hospitals. 
Octavo of 918 pages, illustrated. Cloth, $5.00 net ; Half Morocco, $6.00 net. 

" It aims to review the relation of medical practice to normal and pathological physiology, 
and its copious bibliography makes the literature of each subject available." — Johns Hop- 
kins Hospital Bulletin. 

Diseases of the Stomach 

By Dr. F. Riegel, of Giessen. Edited, with additions, by Charles G. 
Stockton, M. D., Professor of Medicine, University of Buffalo. Handsome 
octavo of 835 pages, with 29 text-cuts and 6 full-page plates. Cloth, $5.00 
net ; Half Morocco, $6.00 net. 

This work is a complete exposition of the diseases of the stomach. Full consideration 
is given to the hydrochloric acid question, the latest views being incorporated by the 
editor. Particular attention has been given to disturbances of motility and secretion. 

Diseases of the Intestines and Peritoneum 

By Dr. Hermann Nothnagel, of Vienna. The entire volume edited, with 
additions, by H. D. Rolleston, M. D., F. R. C. P., Physician to St. George's 
Hospital, London. Octavo of 1050 pages, finely illustrated. Just Ready. 

Tuberculosis and Acute General Miliary Tuberculosis 

By Dr. G. Cornet, of Berlin. Edited, with additions, by Walter B. 
James, M. D., Professor of the Practice of Medicine, Columbia University, 
New York. Handsome octavo of 806 pages. Just Ready. 

Influenza, Dengue, Malarial Diseases 

By Dr. O. LEICHTENSTERN, of Cologne, and Dr. J. Mannaberg, of Vienna. 
The entire volume edited, with additions, by Ronald Ross, F. R. C. S., Eng., 
D. P. H., F. R. S., Major, Indian Medical Service, retired; Walter Myers 
Lecturer, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool. Handsome 
octavo of 700 pages, with 7 full-page lithographic plates in colors. 

Anemia, Leukemia, Pseudoleukemia, Hemoglobinemia, and 
Chlorosis 

By Dr. P. Ehrlich, of Frankfort-on-the-Main ; Dr. A. Lazarus, of Char- 
lottenburg ; Dr. Felix I'inkus, of Berlin ; and Dr. K. von Noorden, of 
Frankfort-on-the-Main. The entire volume edited, with additions, by ALFRED 
STENGEL, M. I)., Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. 
Handsome octavo of 750 pages, with 5 full-page lithographs in colors. 

Diseases of Kidneys and Spleen, and Hemorrhagic Diatheses 

By DR. II. SENATOR, of Berlin, and Dr. M. LlTTEN, of Berlin. The entire 
volume edited, with additions, by JAMES B. HERRICK, M. I)., Professor of the 
Practice of Medicine, Rush Medical College, in affiliation with the University 
of Chieagf). Octavo of 800 pages, finely illustrated. 

EACH VOLUME IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF AND IS SOLD SEPARATELY 



THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE 



Anders' 
Practice of Medicine 

Sixth Revised Edition —Just Issued 



A Text=Book of the Practice of Medicine. By James M. Anders, 
M. D., Ph. D., LL. D., Professor of the Practice of Medicine and of 
Clinical Medicine, Medico-Chirurgical College, Philadelphia. Hand- 
some octavo, 1295 pages, fully illustrated. Cloth, $5.50 net; Sheep 
or Half Morocco, $6.50 net. 

SIX EDITIONS IN SIX YEARS 

The success of this work as a text-book and as a practical guide for physi- 
cians has been truly phenomenal, six large editions having been called for 
in as many years. The rapid exhaustion of each edition has made it possible 
to keep the book absolutely abreast of the times, so that Anders' Practice has 
become justly celebrated as the most up-to-date work on practice. In this 
edition Malaria, Yellow Fever, Bacillary Dysentery, Cholecystitis, and the use of 
the X-rays in Diagnosis and Treatment have been fully discussed, incorporating the 
results of the most recent investigations. Among the new subjects introduced are 
Paratyphoid Fever, the Fourth Disease, Trypanosomiasis, Orthostatic Albuminuria, 
Transcortical Aphasia, Adiposis Dolorosa, and Amaurotic Family Idiocy, particu- 
lar attention being paid to clinical character, diagnosis, and treatment. 



PERSONAL OPINIONS 



James C Wilson, M. D., 

Professor of the Practice of Medicine and of Clinical Medicine, Jefferson Medical College 

Philadelphia. 
" It is an excellent book — concise, comprehensive, thorough, and up-to-date. It is a 
credit to you; but, more than that, it is a credit to the profession of Philadelphia — to us." 

A. C. Cowperthwait, M. D., 

President Illinois Homeopathic Medical Association. 

" I consider Dr. Anders' book not only the best late work on Medical Practice, but by far 
the best that has ever been published. It is concise, systematic, thorough, and fully up-to-date 
in everything. I consider it a great credit to both the author and the publishers." 

George Roe Lockwood, M. D., 

Attending Physician to the Bellevue Hospital, New York. 

" I have read several of the important chapters carefully, and am very much pleased with 
the work. It is thoroughly up-to-date, well expressed, and shows evidence of clinical expe- 
rience." 



SAUNDERS' BOOKS ON 



Pusey and Caldwell on 

X-Rays 

in Therapeutics and Diagnosis 






The Practical Application of the Rontgen Rays in Therapeutics 
and Diagnosis. By William Allen Pusey, A. M., M. D., Professor 
of Dermatology in the University of Illinois ; and Eugene W. Cald- 
well, B. S., Director of the Edward N. Gibbs X-Ray Memorial Labo- 
ratory of the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New 
York. Handsome octavo of 625 pages, with 200 illustrations, nearly 
all clinical. Cloth, $5.00 net; Sheep or Half Morocco, $6.00 net. 

JUST ISSUED— NEW (2d) EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED 
TWO LARGE EDITIONS IN ONE YEAR 

Two large editions of this work within a year testify to its practical value to 
both the specialist and general practitioner. Throughout the work it has been 
the aim of the authors to elucidate the practical aspects of the subject, and to 
this end the text has been beautifully illustrated with clinical pictures, showing 
the condition before the use of the X-rays, at various stages of their application, 
and the final therapeutic result obtained. Details are also given regarding the use 
and management of the apparatus necessary for X-ray work, illustrating the 
descriptions with instructive photographs and drawings. In making the revision 
the histories of the cases cited have been brought down to the present time. 



OPINIONS OF THE MEDICAL PRESS 



British Journal of Dermatology 

" The most complete and up-to-date contribution on the subject of the therapeutic action 
of the Rontgen rays which lias been published in English." 
Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 

" It is indispensable to those who use the X-rays as a therapeutic agent ; and its illustrations 
are so numerous . . . that it becomes valuable to every one." 

New York Medical Journal 

" We have nothing but praise for this volume, the combined work of two authors than 
whom no one is better fitted by training or experience to write in his individual field." 



THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. 



Hatcher and Sollmann's 
Materia Medica 

A Text=Book of Materia Medica ; including Laboratory Exercises 
in the Histologic and Chemic Examination of Drugs. By Robert A. 
Hatcher, Ph. G., M. D., of Cornell University Medical School, New 
York City ; and Torald Sollmann, M.D., of the Western Reserve Uni- 
versity, Cleveland, Ohio. i2mo of about 300 pages. Flexible leather. 

JUST ISSUED— FOR PHARMACY STUDENTS 

This work is a practical text-book, treating the subject by actual experimental 
demonstrations. Part I. comprises a guide to the study of crude drugs, both 
official and unofficial. In Parts II. and III. the histologic and chemic examina- 
tions of drugs are considered in a scientific, yet clear and simple manner. 

Eichhorst's Practice 

A Text=Book of the Practice of Medicine. By Dr. Hermann 
Eichhorst, University of Zurich. Translated and edited by Augus- 
tus A. Eshner, M.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine, Philadelphia 
Polyclinic. Two octavos of 600 pages each, with over 150 illustra- 
tions. Per set : Cloth, $6.00 net ; Sheep or Half Morocco, $7.50 net. 

Bulletin of Johns Hopkins Hospital 

" This book is an excellent one of its kind. Its completeness, yet brevity, the clinical 
methods, the excellent paragraphs on treatment and watering-places, will make it very 
desirable." 

Bridge on Tuberculosis 

Tuberculosis. By Norman Bridge, A. M., M. D., Emeritus Pro- 
fessor of Medicine in Rush Medical College, in affiliation with the 
University of Chicago. i2mo of 302 pages, illustrated. Cloth, 
$1.50 net. 

Medical News, New York 

" Thoroughly representative of our practical methods of diagnosis and treatment of the 
disease." 



SAUNDERS' BOOKS ON 



Rolleston on the Liver 



Diseases of the Liver. By Humphrey D. Rolleston, M. D., 
F. R. C P., Physician to St. George's Hospital, London, England. 
Octavo volume of about 850 pages, with beautiful illustrations, in- 
cluding a number in colors. 

ENTIRELY NEW-JUST ISSUED 

This work covers the entire field of diseases of the liver, and is the most 
voluminous work on this subject in English. Dr. Rolleston has for many years 
past devoted his time exclusively to diseases of the digestive organs, and any- 
thing from his pen, therefore, is authoritative and practical. Special attention is 
given to pathology and treatment, the former being most profusely illustrated 
both with pictures of the gross appearances and with microphotographs. There 
are also a number of exceptionally beautiful and accurate colored plates. Dr. 
Rolleston' s work will become the authority on diseases of the liver. 



Boston's 
Clinical Diagnosis 

Clinical Diagnosis. By L. Napoleon Boston, M. D., Demonstra- 
tor in Charge of Clinical Laboratory, Medico-Chirurgical College, 
Philadelphia. Octavo of 525 pages, with 200 illustrations, including 
25 colored plates. 

A NEW WORK— JUST ISSUED 

/ 
The clinical examination of sputum, feces, blood, etc. has assumed such an im- 
portant place in practice that a thorough knowledge of the significance of chemic 
and microscopic laboratory findings becomes absolutely necessary to success- 
ful therapeusis. Dr. Boston here presents a practical manual of the clinical and 
laboratory examinations which furnish a guide to correct diagnosis, giving only 
such methods, however, which can be carried out by the busy practitioner in his 
office as well as by the student in the laboratory. The chapter on Serum Diagno- 
sis is parti< ularly complete. 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 



GET Jk • THE NEW 

THE BEST I\ HI © r 1 C Si II STANDARD 

Illustrated Dictionary 

Third Revised Edition — Just Issued 



The American Illustrated Medical Dictionary. A new and com- 
plete dictionary of the terms used in Medicine, Surgery, Dentistry, 
Pharmacy, Chemistry, and kindred branches; with over ioo new and 
elaborate tables and many handsome illustrations. By W. A. Newman 
Dorland, M. D., Editor of " The American Pocket Medical Diction- 
ary." Large octavo, nearly 800 pages, bound in full flexible leather. 
Price, $4.50 net; with thumb, index, $5.00 net. 

Gives a Maximum Amount of Matter in a Minimum Space, and at the Lowest 

Possible Cost 

THREE EDITIONS IN THREE YEARS— WITH 1500 NEW TERMS 

The immediate success of this work is due to the special features that distin- 
guish it from other books of its kind. It gives a maximum of matter in a mini- 
mum space and at the lowest possible cost. Though it is practically unabridged, 
yet by the use of thin bible paper and flexible morocco binding it is only 1 % 
inches thick. The result is a truly luxurious specimen of book-making. In this 
new edition the book has been thoroughly revised, and upward of fifteen hundred 
new terms that have appeared in recent medical literature have been added, thus 
bringing the book absolutely up to date. The book contains hundreds of terms 
not to be found in any other dictionary, over 100 original tables, and many hand- 
some illustrations, a number in colors. 



PERSONAL OPINIONS 



Howard A. Kelly, M. D., 

Professor of Gynecology, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore. 

" Dr. Dorland's dictionary is admirable. It is so well gotten up and of such convenient 
size. No errors have been found in my use of it." 

Roswell Park, M. D., 

Professor of Principles and Practice of Surgery and of Clinical Surgery, University of 



" I must acknowledge my astonishment at seeing how much he has condensed within rela- 
tively small space. I find nothing to criticize, very much to commend, and was interested in 
finding some of the new words which are not in other recent dictionaries." 



SAUNDERS' BOOKS ON 



Saunders' 
Pocket Medical Formulary 

Sixth Edition, Revised 



Saunders* Pocket Medical Formulary. By William M. Powell, 
M. D., author of " Essentials of Diseases of Children " ; Member of 
Philadelphia Pathological Society. Containing 1844 formulas from the 
best-known authorities. With an Appendix containing Posological 
Table, Formulas and Doses for Hypodermic Medication, Poisons 
and their Antidotes, Diameters of the Female Pelvis and Fetal Head, 
Obstetrical Table, Diet-lists, Materials and Drugs used in Antiseptic 
Surgery, Treatment of Asphyxia from Drowning, Surgical Remem- 
brancer, Tables of Incompatibles, Eruptive Fevers, etc., etc. In flex- 
ible morocco, with side index, wallet, and flap. $2.00 net. 

CONTAINING 200 NEW FORMULAS 

In compiling this handy volume the author has introduced as many of the 
more important recently discovered drugs as possible. Besides the many hun- 
dreds of famous formulas collected from the works of the most eminent physicians 
and surgeons of the world, it contains many valuable, and hitherto unpublished, 
prescriptions from the private practice of distinguished practitioners of to-day. 
In this new edition the work has been thoroughly and carefully revised and cor- 
rected, and some two hundred new and valuable formulas added. The Dose- 
table has been brought up to date, and the entire work made to comply in every 
way with the latest knowledge on the subjects it contains. 



OPINIONS OF THE MEDICAL PRESS 



Medical Record, New York 

"This little book, that can be conveniently carried in the pocket, contains an immense 
amount of material. It is very useful, and, as the name of the author of each prescription is 
given, is unusually reliable." 

Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin 

" Arranged in such a way as to make consultation of it as easy as possible. It is remark- 
able how much information the author has succeeded in getting into so small a book." 

Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 

"Hie book is attractively bound in flexible leather, and the fact that it has reached its 
sixth edition bears ample testimony to its popularity." 



MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEUTICS. n 

Stevens' Materia Medica 
and Therapeutics 



A Text=Book of Modern Materia Medica and Therapeutics. By 

A. A. Stevens, A. M., M. D., Lecturer on Physical Diagnosis in the 
University of Pennsylvania. Handsome octavo volume of 663 pages, 
Cloth, $3.50 net. 

JUST ISSUED— THIRD EDITION, REWRITTEN AND ENLARGED 

Since the appearance of the last edition of this book such rapid advances 
have been made in Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and the allied sciences that 
the author felt it imperative to rewrite the work entirely. All the newer reme- 
dies that have won approval by recognized authorities have been incorporated, 
and their therapeutic properties fully discussed, thus bringing the book absolutely 
down to date. The work includes the following sections : Physiologic Action of 
Drugs ; Drugs ; Remedial Measures other than Drugs ; Applied Therapeutics ; 
Incompatibility in Prescriptions ; Table of Doses ; Index of Drugs ; and Index 
of Diseases ; the treatment being elucidated by more than two hundred formulae. 



OPINIONS OF THE MEDICAL PRESS 



University Medical Magazine 

' ' The author has faithfully presented modern therapeutics in a comprehensive work . . . 
and it will be found a reliable guide and sufficiently comprehensive for the physician in 
practice." 

Bristol Medico-Chirurg'ical Journal, Bristol 

"This addition to the numerous works on Therapeutics is distinctly a good one. ... It 
is to be recommended as being systematic, clear, concise, very fairly up to date, and carefully 
indexed." 



Monro's Manual of Medicine just issued 

Manual of Medicine. By Thomas Kirkpatrick Monro, M. A., M. D., 
Fellow of, and Examiner to, the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, 
England ; Glasgow Physician to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, eta 
Octavo volume of 901 pages, illustrated. Cloth, $5.00 net. 



12 SAUNDERS' BOOKS ON 

Thornton's Dose-Book 

Dose=Book and Manual of Prescription=Writing. By E. Q. Thorn- 
ton, M. D., Assistant Professor of Materia Medica, Jefferson Medical 
College, Phila. Post-octavo, 362 pages, illustrated. Flexible Leather, 
$2.00 net. 

Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged 

In the new edition of this work, intended for the student and practitioner, 
additions have been made to the chapters on ' ' Prescription-Writing ' ' and 
' ' Incompatibilities, ' ' and references have been introduced in the text to the 
newer curative sera, organic extracts, synthetic compounds, and vegetable drugs. 
To the Appendix, chapters upon Synonyms and Poisons and their antidotes 
have been added, thus increasing its value as a book of reference. 

C. H. Miller, M. D., 

Professor of Pharmacology \ Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago. 

" I will be able to make considerable use of that part of its contents relating to the correct 
terminology as used in prescription-writing, and it will afford me much pleasure to recommend 
the book to my classes, who often fail to find this information in their other text-books." 



Barton and Welly' 
Medical Thesaurus 



A Thesaurus of Medical Words and Phrases. By Wilfred M. 
Barton, M. D., Assistant to Professor of Materia Medica and Thera- 
peutics, Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. ; and Walter A. 
Wells, M. D., Demonstrator of Laryngology, Georgetown University, 
Washington, D. C. i2mo of 534 pages. Flexible leather, $2.50 net ; 
with thumb index, $3.00 net. 

A UNIQUE WORK— JUST ISSUED 

This work is just the opposite of a dictionary : when the idea or meaning is 
in the mind, it endeavors to supply the term or phrase to express that idea. Its 
value is evident. 

Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 

" We can easily sec the value of such a book, and can certainly recommend it to our 
re iders." 



THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. 13 

Gould and Pyle's 
Curiosities of Medicine 



Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine. By George M. Gould, 
M. D., and Walter L. Pyle, M. D. An encyclopedic collection of 
rare and extraordinary cases and of the most striking instances of 
abnormality in all branches of Medicine and Surgery, derived from an 
exhaustive research of medical literature from its origin to the present 
day, abstracted, classified, annotated, and indexed. Handsome octavo 
volume of 968 pages, 295 engravings, and 12 full-page plates. 

Popular Edition : Cloth, #3.00 net ; Sheep or Half Morocco, #4-00 net. 

As a complete and authoritative Book of Reference this work will be of value 
not only to members of the medical profession, but to all persons interested in 
general scientific, sociologic, and medicolegal topics ; in fact, the absence of any 
complete work upon the subject makes this volume one of the most important 
literary innovations of the day. 

The Lancet, London 

" The book is a monument of untiring energy, keen discrimination, and erudition. . . . 
We heartily recommend it to the profession." 



Saunders' Year-Book 



The American Year=Book of Medicine and Surgery. A Yearly 
Digest of Scientific Progress and Authoritative Opinion in all branches 
of Medicine and Surgery, drawn from journals, monographs, and text- 
books of the leading American and foreign authors and investigators. 
Arranged with critical editorial comments by eminent American special- 
ists, under the editorial charge of George M. Gould, M. D. In two 
volumes — Vol. L, including General Medicine ; Vol. II., General Sur- 
gery. Per volume : Cloth, $3.00 net; Half Morocco, $3.75 net. Sold 
by Subscription. 

EQUIVALENT TO A POSTGRADUATE COURSE 

The Lancet, London 

" It is much more than a mere compilation of abstracts, for, as each section is entrusted to 
experienced and able contributors, the reader has the advantage of certain critical commen- 
taries and expositions . . proceeding from writers fully qualified to perform these tasks." 



14 SAUNDERS' BOOKS ON 

Sollmann's Pharmacology 

Including Therapeutics, Materia Medica. Pharmacy, 
Prescription-writing, Toxicology, etc. 



A Text=Book of Pharmacology. By Torald Sollmann, M. D., 
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Materia Medica, Medical 
Department of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Hand- 
some octavo volume of 894 pages, fully illustrated. Cloth, $3.75 net. 

A NEW WORK— RECENTLY ISSUED 

This work aims to furnish a scientific discussion and definite conception of the 
action of drugs, as well as their derivation, composition, strength, and dose. The 
author bases the study of therapeutics on a systematic knowledge of the nature 
and properties of drugs, and thus brings out forcibly the intimate relation between 
pharmacology and practical medicine. 

J. F. Fotheringh&m, M. D. 

Prof, of Therapeutics and Theory and Practice of Prescribing, Trinity Med. College, Toronto. 
"The work certainly occupies ground not covered in so concise, useful, and scientific a 
manner by any other text I have read on the subjects embraced." 

Butler's Materia Medica 

Therapeutics, and Pharmacology 

A Text-Book of Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Pharmacology. 

By George F. Butler, Ph. G., M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and 
of Clinical Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago, 
Octavo, 896 pages, illustrated. Cloth, $4.00 net ; Sheep or Half Morocco, 
$5.00 net. 

FOURTH EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED 

In this new edition the chapters on Organo-therapy, Serum-therapy, and cog- 
nate subjects have been enlarged and carefully revised. An important addition 
is the chapter devoted to the newer theories of electrolytic dissociation and its 
relation to the topic of pharmacotherapy. 

Medical Record, New York 

" Nothing has been omitted by the author which, in Ins judgment, would add to the com- 
pleteness of the text, and the student or general reader is given the benefit of latest advices 
bearing upon tli<- value of drugs and remedies considered." 



PRACTICE, MATERIA MEDIC A , Etc. 15 

The American Pocket Medical Dictionary. 4th Edition, just Ready 

The American Pocket Medical Dictionary. Edited by W. A. Newman Dor- 
land, M. D., Assistant Obstetrician to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. 
Containing the pronunciation and definition of the principal words used in medicine 
and kindred sciences, with 64 extensive tables. Flexible leather, with gold edges, 
#1.00 net ; with thumb index, #1.25 net. 

"I can recommend it to our students without reserve." — J. H. Holland, M. D., Dean of the 
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 

Vierordt's Medical Diagnosis. Fourth Edition, Revised 

Medical Diagnosis. By Dr Oswald Vierordt, Professor of Medicine, Univer- 
sity of Heidelberg. Translated from the fifth enlarged German edition by Francis 
H. Stuart, A. M., M. D. Octavo, 603 pages, 104 wood cuts. Cloth, $4.00 net; 
Sheep or Half Morocco, $5.00 net. 

" Has been recognized as a practical work of the highest value. It may be considered indispensable 
both to students and practitioners." — F. Minot, M. D., late Professor of Theory and Practice in 
Harvard University. 

Cohen and Eshner's Diagnosis. Second Revised Edition 

Essentials of Diagnosis. By S. Solis-Cohen, M. D., Senior Assistant Professor 
in Clinical Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Phila. ; and A. A. Eshner, M. D., 
Professor of Clinical Medicine, Philadelphia Polyclinic. Post-octavo, 382 pages ; 55 
illustrations. Cloth, $1. 00 net. In Saunders 1 Question- Compend Series. 

"Concise in the treatment of subject, terse in expression of fact." — American Journal of the 
Medical Sciences. 

Just Issued 

Morris' Materia Medica and Therapeutics. Sixth Revised Edition 

Essentials of Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Prescription- Writing. 
By Henry Morris, M. D., late Demonstrator of Therapeutics, Jefferson Medical 
College, Phila. Post-octavo, 250 pages. Cloth, $1.00 net. In Saunders' Question- 
Compend Series. 

" Cannot fail to impress the mind and instinct in a lasting manner. " — Buffalo Medical Journal. 

Sayre's Practice of Pharmacy. Second Edition, Revised 

Essentials of the Practice of Pharmacy. By Lucius E. Sayre, M. D., Pro- 
fessor of Pharmacy, University of Kansas. Post-octavo, 200 pages. Cloth, $1. 00 net. 
In Saunders' Question- Compend Series. 

" The topics are treated in a simple, practical manner, and the work forms a very useful student's 
manual." — Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. 

BrOCkway's Medical Physics. Second Edition, Revised 

Essentials of Medical Physics. By Fred. J. Brockway, M. D., late Assistant 
Demonstrator of Anatomy, College of Physicians and Surgeons, N. Y. Post-octavo, 
330 pages ; 155 fine illustrations. Cloth, $1.00 net. In Saunders 1 Question- Compend 

Series. 

" It contains all that one need know on the subject, is well written, and is copiously illustrated." — 
Medical Record, New York. 

Stoney's Materia Medica for Nurses Second^evisedEdition 

Materia Medica for Nurses. By Emily A. M. Stoney, Superintendent of the 
Training School for Nurses at the Carney Hospital, South Boston, Mass. Handsome 
i2mo volume of 300 pages. Cloth, $1.50 net. 

"It contains about everything that a nurse ought to know in regard to drugs." — Journal of the 

American Medical Association. 

GrafstronVs Mechanotherapy «^Z*&Enta*d 

A Text-Book of Mechano-therapy (Massage and Medical Gymnastics). By 
Axel V. GRAFSTROM, B. Sc, M. D., Attending Physician to Augustus Adolphus Orphan- 
age, lamestown, N. Y. 121110, 200 pages, illustrated. $1.25 net. 

"Certainly fulfills its mission in rendering comprehensible the subjects of massage and medical 
gymnastics." — New York Medical Journal. 



1 6 SAUNDERS' BOOKS ON PRACTICE, Etc. 

Jakob and Eshner's Internal Medicine and Diagnosis 

Atlas and Epitome of Internal Medicine and Clinical Diagnosis. By Dr. 
Chr. Jakob, of Erlangen. Edited, with additions, by A. A. Eshner, M. D., Pro- 
fessor of Clinical Medicine, Philadelphia Polyclinic. With 182 colored figures on 
68 plates, 64 text-illustrations, 259 pages of text. Cloth, $3.00 net. In Saunders 1 
Hand-Atlas Series. 

" Can be recommended unhesitatingly to the practicing physician no less than to the student." — 
Bulletin of Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

Lockwood's Practice of Medicine. R^S^/Sfed 

A Manual of the Practice of Medicine. By Geo. Roe Lockwood, M. D., 
Attending Physician to the Bellevue Hospital, New York City. Octavo, 847 pages, 
with 79 illustrations in the text and 22 full-page plates. Cloth, $4.00 net. 

" A work of positive merit, and one which we gladly welcome." — New York Medical Journal. 

Salinger and Kalteyer's Modern Medicine 

Modern Medicine. By Julius L. Salinger, M. D., late Ass't Prof, of Clinical 
Medicine, Jefferson Medical College; and F. J. Kalteyer, M. D., Demonstrator of 
Clinical Medicine, Jefferson Medical College. Handsome octavo, 801 pages, illus- 
trated. Cloth, $4.00 net. 

" I have carefully examined the book, and find it to be thoroughly trustworthy in all respects and a 
valuable text-book for the medical student." — Sam'l O. L. Potter, Formerly Professor of Principles 
and Practice of Medicine, Cooper Medical College, San Francisco. 

Keating's Life Insurance 

How to Examine for Life Insurance. By the late John M. Keating, M. D., 
Ex-President of the Association of Life Insurance Medical Directors. Royal octavo, 
211 pages. With numerous illustrations. Cloth, $2.00 net. 

" This is by far the most useful book which has yet appeared on insurance examination." — Medical 
News. 

Corwin's Physical Diagnosis. Third Edition, Revised 

Essentials of Physical Diagnosis of the Thorax. By A. M. Corwin, A. M., 
M. D., Professor of Physical Diagnosis, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago. 
220 pages, illustrated. Cloth, flexible covers, $1.25 net. 

" A most excellent little work. It arranges orderly and in sequence the various objective phenomena 
to logical solution of a careful diagnosis."— Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. 

American Text-Book of Theory and Practice 

American Text-Book of the Theory and Practice of Medicine. Edited 
by the late William Pepper, M. D., LL. D., Professor of the Theory and Practice 
of Medicine and of Clinical Medicine, University of Penna. Two handsome imperial 
octavos of about 1000 pages each. Illustrated. Per volume : Cloth, $5.00 net ; Sheep 
or Half Morocco, $6.00 net. 

•' I am quite sure it will command itself both to practitioners and students of medicine, and become 
one of our most popular text-books."— Alfred Loomis, M. D., LL. D., Professor of Pathology and 
Practice of Medicine, University of the City of New York. 

Stevens* Practice Of Medicine. Sixth Edition, Revised— Just Issued 

A Manual of the Practice of Medicine. By A. A. Stevens, A. M., M. D., 
Lecturer on Physical Diagnosis, University of Pennsylvania. Specially intended for 
students preparing for graduation and hospital examinations. Post-octavo, 556 pages; 
illustrated. Flexible leather, £2.25 net. 

" An excellent condensation of the essentials of medical practice for the student, and may be found 
also an excellent reminder for the busy physician." — Buffalo Medical Journal. 



OCT £4 1904 



